Unusual Circumstances
by xGeorgiaMacLeod
Summary: The Doctor finds himself at the start of a war that is going to be his toughest yet knowing that he has lost all his friends along the way. He can't bear to lose anyone else. But then he finds April Hollerford, the daughter of a lost friend, dealing with her own demons. April finds herself saving the Doctor's life as he is her's. But when in war, nothing is certain. Book 1/5
1. Prologue

Prologue

The air is quiet. Almost too quiet for the Doctor's liking, especially after the recent events of the day. Events that now fill him with utter dread. The last of the Time Lord's now stands alone in his ship, the Tardis, once more, looking down at the console. For a few minutes, he allows his mind to be overcome with thoughts of what has just happened.

The one battle they have been desperate to stop from happening has now happened, and things are only going to get worse from here. The battle will continue for as long as it takes to destroy the Cytracik.

UNIT has fallen in battle and so has the Hollerford family. The Doctor has lost his friends in war. A war for nothing but the greed and desperation of power. And because of it, the Doctor is once again ridden with guilt for having done nothing but stand there and watch his friends die in battle.

Only two have survived the battle. The twins. Declan and Suzzette Hollerford's thirteen year old twins: Maxwell and April Hollerford. It is their thirteenth birthday today. The police would be at their house by now, informing the twins of the news of their parents death.

What has become of the universe? The Cytracik was created in the form of a black box. Jack Gruntler explained it as a version of Pandora's box. No one knows what is inside. But the box can latch onto the one it thinks will posses its power. That person or species will answer its call. However what is to happen after was never clear. Not until now.

The battle for the Cytracik commenced as soon as word got out across the universe of its power: species desperate to have the power the Cytracik apparently possesses, and the Doctor fighting alongside UNIT, trying to follow Jack Gruntler's orders to destroy it. But everyone failed. The fighting may have temporarily stopped as the shape shifters and Daleks have become weak, but the Battle of the Cytracik continues. The battle will not end until the Cytracik has been destroyed.

Where the Cytracik is now, no one knows. But that is the Doctor's job. Jack Gruntler, the wisest man in the universe, also known as the one who knows all – the Doctor rolls his eyes at this title – has sent the Doctor on a mission to track down the Cytracik and destroy it before the prophecy of the Hollerford twins can be fulfilled. A prophecy given to them because...

Out of anger, the Doctor stops himself from thinking about the reason why. Instead he yells out in rage and whacks his fist harshly down on the Tardis console. The Tardis lets out a small rumble as the Doctor bows his head, resting heavily against the console.

But there is something else niggling the Doctor's thoughts. Not only has the Battle of the Cytracik begun and that he has to find the Cytracik and destroy it, but he also thinks about Declan Hollerford and his dying wish.

Declan was killed only moments before the Doctor returned to the Tardis and there was one thing he made the Doctor promise. And that was to keep his children safe.

Apparently April and Maxwell Hollerford were left at their home in Wandsworth while their parents left to fight. But as the Doctor checked readings on the Tardis console, Maxwell seems to be nowhere in sight. There does not to be a trace left of him anywhere in London, let alone anywhere in the twenty-first century. But April is still there.

In order to bring the Hollerford twins back together, the Doctor has to find April first.

Standing alone in the Tardis, the Doctor grits his teeth as he stares down at the green lights radiating off the console, willing himself to not be overcome with grief. He has lost his friends. Once again. He watched them die in battle and yet he stands here unhurt and still alive. Rose Tyler is back at home. He can't imagine what would happen if she stayed with him. But how many more times can the Doctor go on travelling through the universe watching the ones he cares for die?

The Doctor takes in a slow, but shaky breath in, and then exhales. He does this a few times with his head still bowed. His hair falls into is eyes but he doesn't flick it out the way. Instead he thinks the same wish over and over in his mind:

 _No one else is going to die for me. I won't lose anyone else._

Trying to keep his thoughts away from his grief on the task at hand, the Doctor pushes himself away from the console, spinning around in a pirouette as he does so. He then reaches for a dial on the console and twists it anticlockwise on the console. Immediately a holographic image of himself appears a few feet in front of himself. For a few moments the Doctor stands there with his hands in his trouser pockets, staring at his reflection in the hologram.

He then clears his throat and starts to speak.

"This is emergency program 0.00505. This is not the same as emergency program one where it means that I must be against an enemy. I repeat this is emergency program 0.00505. And if this is triggered than it can only mean that we have lost the Battle of the Cytracik.

"The only people who know of this trigger will be Terry, Colonel Aaron Brimikawood, and Jack Gruntler. But the Colonel is dead so the other two will probably have triggered this. To clarify I have recorded this message the day the Battle of the Cytracik started. Declan Hollerford was powerful enough to open the Cytracik. This ended in himself and his wife, Suzette being killed by the Daleks. The consequence of the Cytracik is not clear. But Declan has asked me to save April and to look after her. Maxwell is nowhere in sight.

"But there is more to this message. The only reason why this message can be triggered is if we have lost the Battle. The shape shifters have won. And I am dead. Or at least about to die. The truth is if I die during the battle, I cannot regenerate. Time can erase itself but it cannot heal during this. But that's okay. I just hope that everyone else is still alive when I die.

"The only thing I ask of is five things. Very simple. But just five. The first is to send Rose Tyler home and keep her there. Perhaps erase her memory. Send Rose Tyler back to the Powell State in London. Back to her mother, Jackie Tyler. Whether or not you erase her memory is up to whoever triggered this message. If her memory of me or this battle will put her in danger as a target to the universe, then save her by letting her forget me.

"Secondly, I want you to find April Hollerford if I have not done so already. If I have then make sure she is okay. Make sure that she is happy and that she can live her life away from the Cytracik. I fear that what her father has done, it will affect her and Maxwell. She has a home in a cul-de-sac in Wandsworth, south-west London. She will be safe there. Just keep her alive.

"The third thing is the Tardis. If I'm dead then the Tardis will not be able to function properly, unless there is someone else who can fly my ship. As far as I am aware there is no one. So for me, send it to Jack Gruntler. If you are Jack, then keep it," the Doctor then chuckles slightly. "Lock the door and let my ship to die. Bury it in your garden or use it as decoration. Whatever you fancy, Jack. The Tardis has a trick that nothing in the universe can find it. Aliens and humans will walk past it but won't even give it a mere glance.

"The fourth thing is to never stop fighting to end this battle. There will be moments in the universe where nothing is happening and it seems that nothing is going for the Cytracik. But we're at the stage now where the news about the Cytracik and its power will have spread across the universe. Unfortunately I don't know what the shape shifter's plans are, but I am sure that they are preparing for something big. So please do whatever you can to destroy it. And I have to admit that even I don't know how to destroy it. But I believe in you to find out.

"And finally," the Doctor pauses and closes his eyes and thinks of the fifth thing in his mind. And then without further ado, he flicks a switch on the console. There is a brief pause before the silent air around him is suddenly filled with music. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. His 25th Symphony rings across the console room.

And then the Doctor pulls down a leaver, making a mental note to himself that he must go back in time one day and meet the man himself. The Tardis starts to fly away from London and through the Time Votex.

The hunt for April Hollerford has begun.


	2. I - April Hollerford

**I  
** **April Hollerford**

 _21_ _st_ _Century  
Planet Earth  
_ _England  
_ _London_

At the age of fifteen years old April Hollerford attempted suicide for the first time. And it wouldn't be her last. An overdose of sleeping pills only led to Bruce Fey, the only person who witnessed it, dragging her to the hospital, having the nurses and doctor's pump the drugs out of her system to save her life. April got lucky and survived the episode. However this only led to Bruce bringing April back home and scolding her. Why would she try to take her own life after everything her parents did for her, and everything Bruce was doing for her then?

However April knew at that very moment that it was Bruce himself that was making her feel the way she did. Mental health was never an issue in her family as far as she knew. No one really suffered from anything. Even if they did, she was never told. But right at that moment April did not know how to keep going on in life when she feared it so much.

After her first suicide attempt, it soon turned to a reluctance of paying for therapy sessions and anti-depressants that made no impact to April's health.

Now over two years later, the fear of staying alive only increased and so did the number of suicide attempts. Perhaps death would bring her peace. Death would take her away from this world. She has no family. Her parents were killed in a supposed car accident on her thirteenth birthday. She lives with Bruce Fey, a family friend who is not the same as he was before her parent's death. The police and Wandsworth council seemed absolutely fine for Bruce Fey to look after April while she grows up. But little did they know at the time what he was going to do to her.

He is the one person in the world April is more afraid of than herself.

But now it is almost five years since she lost her parents and a seventeen year old April Hollerford, wishes to be dead before she reaches her eighteenth birthday.

On a wet Tuesday night, the wind buzzes lightly against the panes of the windows, echoing around the nearly silent house. The house is only small so the littlest sound can be heard all around. Every so often the wind gets a little too harsh and buzzes loudly against the windows, putting pressure around the little terraced house, and yet April only fears that the wind may disturb Bruce Fey's sleep.

It is 11:42pm exactly and April sits in the small and cluttered hallway, directly outside Bruce's bedroom door which has been left open ajar. With her knees up close to her chest, she looks down at her wrist watch and counts the seconds silently, only mouthing the numbers. While counting she listens to Bruce's slow breathing as he sleeps deeply through the night. Occasionally he stirs and rolls over in his sleep. Every time he moves, April finds herself holding onto her breath in fear of him waking up and catching her awake.

It is getting on to 11:50pm and once the second hand finally reaches midnight, April presses her ear against the door. Bruce is fast asleep. She knows it. It takes a lot to disturb him in his sleep but the fear of doing anything to wake him is enough to make April hold her breath.

April hauls herself back onto her feet and silently creeps across the hallway and into her cold bedroom. Her bedroom is rather small and cramped, just like the rest of the house. When her parents were alive, the house still seemed small but it was tidy. Her mother would never leave anything lying around. But with Bruce, however, he leaves everything around the house, and it has only built up over the years. It only takes her a few steps to walk from one end to the other, if she's lucky to not trip over something. She closes the door behind her and hurriedly stuffs a large flask of coffee and some leftover food in her rucksack, along with an astronomy text book and some spare sheets of paper she found, and a couple of pens. Hauling the bag off her bed, she pauses for a moment, once more listening to Bruce snoring in the room next door. When she is certain of herself, she turns to her bedroom window overlooking the cul-de-sac she lives in, and pushes it open. Then without further ado she sits up on the window ledge.

The cold air from outside blows into the room sending shivers down April's spine. It's early March. The spring warmth hasn't quite arrived to London yet. The house April lives in is right is right at the end of the cul-de-sac. The cul-de-sac doesn't end in a circle like most usually do, this one just curves around at a light bend and ends at a brick wall. The brick wall is directly to the left of April's house and runs along to the side of the house directly opposite her. There are five houses to the right that curve around the road to the end where it links onto the next residential road.

There is a single lamppost standing just in the bend of the road beside the small grass area in the bend. The grass area directly opposite April's house ends at a brick wall to the end of the cul-de-sac and is cornered off by the side wall of the house directly opposite. April remains sitting on the edge as she watches a young man leaning against the lamppost. He looks no older than she is. April has lived here for her whole life. That boy only moved in a few years ago but not once have they ever spoken. Nor does she even know his name. Everyone knows everything about everyone in this cul-de-sac. Everyone knows about April and the death of her parents five years ago. However April knows very little of her neighbours. She only judges by what she sees as her life has been confined in that tiny house. Most days when she is feeling relatively okay, she will sit on the windowsill and watch life go by outside wondering what she did wrong to be living this life.

On days like this she sometimes wishes that she could just live a mundane life everyone on this street does. There is a tiny glint of hope inside of her for a different life. But then Bruce returns from work and then these thoughts disappear. There is no point.

But every suicide attempt has been a fail. No matter how many pills she swallows, nooses she ties or slits on her wrists she cuts, nothing seems to do the trick. It is as if there is something that is willing her to keep going. But even that thought is just barbaric.

But on rare nights like this, April has a plan. A plan she sometimes can get out of bed to do. She sighs and continues to watch to boy outside standing under the lamppost.

The young boy lives a couple of houses down and all April knows is that he lives with his grandmother. His grandmother that is completely against the likes of drugs, alcohol and cigarettes. Although it is past midnight, the boy isn't exactly being subtle about his smoking habits. Especially how nosy everyone around this cul-de-sac can be. That's the problem with Wandsworth. Everyone here is very nosy, and it doesn't help that her parents seemed to know everyone.

April watches the boy as he drops the end of his cigarette butt on the ground and stamps it out with the ball of his foot before heading back into his house with his hands dug deeply into his jacket pockets. He looks side to side guiltily as he walks. Not once does the boy notice April sitting up on the window ledge watching him.

Once the boy disappears into his house, April looks out over the cul-de-sac and the London city buildings in the distance. Only a few roads down from where she is, is Wandsworth prison and the top of it can be see clearly from where she is. This is April's childhood home and the view is something she always used to admire. But now the home is her fear. However April doesn't know what scares her the most: the memories in her house and the way Bruce treats her or her own mind.

Her therapist often tells her that she needs to help herself before allowing anyone to help her. She has to stand on her own two feet. But April is not asking for help from anyone. Going to therapy, to her, is not asking for help, it is an escape away from the house for a few hours. But April often wonders what her parents would do if they knew about the state she was putting herself in, if they were still alive. Declan would be angry and Suzette no doubt would do anything to stop her. April used to see herself in her parents but right now, it is as if they are strangers.

They apparently died in a tragic car accident on her birthday. But even today, April does not believe that is is the truth.

The sky has an orange tinge to it that reflects off the street lamps. It's unclear to tell whether the stars are out or if they are covered by clouds. Yet living in London, it is always near on impossible to look at the stars with the naked eye.

Dogs bark in the distance and a few cars speed past along the main road every so often. The city of London never sleeps and April fears that she may bump into anyone that may know of her and Bruce along her route.

April picks up her bag and throws it out the window, allowing it to land on the front lawn with a small thump. She pauses for a moment just in case Bruce wakes up, yet his snores are still heard from his room. Then gripping onto the window ledge, April turns and starts to climb out of the window. She swings her legs over the edge and finds the crack in the wall where she can safely place her feet. After steadying herself and finding her balance, she climbs down the wall until she reaches the window below. Once she is there, she jumps down onto the lawn with ease just as she has done so many nights before.

She does not even hesitate before picking up her rucksack, swinging it onto her back and running out the cul-de-sac. She runs at a light jog but not once does she look back. When she reaches the end of her cul-de-sac, she run across the road, cutting across a green square surrounded by houses, and jogs along the side of Wandsworth prison. She eventually reaches the main road and starts jogging towards Clapham Junction train station.

The busiest railway station in the country seems relatively quiet at this time of night. There are a few people dotted around but April pays no attention to them. She jumps on the first train to Waterloo and then takes the tube takes her towards the University of London's observatory.

Since April was a little girl, astronomy was something that she was passionate about. Her parents, especially Declan, seemed to have a lot of knowledge on the subject, but April dedicated a lot of her time to studying the stars, dreaming that one day she would see them herself.

The dream seems far too out of reach right now. But every so often, April likes to visit the observatory where she can study with many of the astronomers there. She has formed a small alliance with them through her parents. This is something that Bruce does not know of.

Once April reaches the gate to the observatory, she pulls her father's identification key card she managed to take from his remaining possessions, out of her jean pocket and scans it on the panel to the side of the door frame. The panel beeps a couple of times followed by a click as the large iron gate starts to open inwards slowly. April watches it swing open before squeezing through the gap.

The observatory is quiet as she jogs across the car park to the large circular building in the centre. She swipes her key card again on another panel by a door and it clicks to unlock. Grabbing hold of the mental handle, she pulls the door open and steps inside the round observatory. Taking in the brightness radiating off the ceiling lights and computer screens, April sees about a dozen astronomers wearing long white lab coats, running around and taking notes excitedly around the large telescope in the centre of the laboratory. Sensing their excitement, April looks up at the top of the telescope which peeps out the top of the observatory's glass rounded roof.

One of the astronomers wearing thick, black, round glasses looks up from his clipboard and notices April walking through the observatory, gazing up at the telescope. The man smiles broadly.

"Ah, April, there you are!" He calls which brings everyone's attention to April. "We have a surprise for you." His smile widens as he approaches her, however April does not return one. Once she reaches the computers in the centre, she takes off her bag and drops it clumsily on the floor. Another astronomer picks it up and places it neatly on one of the swivel chairs as she moves towards the telescope.

April notices that there is a slight change of mood in the observatory tonight. Usually it is quiet and they often sit around the computers doing research in which April helps with. But tonight the air is filled with excitement like change is on its way.

Visiting the observatory most nights and researching with professional astronomers was the only thing that keeps April's mental health at bay.

"Take a look, April. See if you can figure out what it is." Another astronomer, who cradles a clipboard to his chest, says. April silently walks to the telescope, glancing up at the ceiling before looking down through the eye piece. She stays there for a moment, examining the strange looking planet that the telescope is focused on. This new planet is of a cream colour with peculiar circular brown and orange markings across its surface.

"Fifty six light years away." April mutters under her breath as she twists a nozzle on the eyepiece to zoom out ever so slowly.

"Fifty six point three to be _precise_ ," The astronomer to her left corrects. "It's quite habitual. We think somewhat similar to planet Earth as it's just about the same distance from its sun as we are except their orbital cycle is a little slower by at least twelve weeks," The astronomer pauses momentarily as if expecting April to say something but she doesn't. "What do you think?"

The astronomers here were very close friends to her father and she notices the way they are very tentative around her, but she says nothing about this.

There is a long pause as April continues to examine the planet. She is aware of the other astronomers around her eagerly awaiting for her response. She ignores them and continues to watch this interesting planet. She admits to herself that this planet resembles very slightly to a crème brulee which her mother used to make all the time. However as she zooms out on the telescope, she quickly discovers that the planet's atmosphere is cluttered with small asteroids. As she continues to slowly zoom out, she notices that there are more and larger asteroids circling the planet.

"Most likely _not_ habitable any more," She says eventually, keeping her voice monotone. "There are asteroids surrounding the planet." April takes a step back from the eyepiece and looks up at the ceiling. One of the other astronomers takes a step forward to look through the eyepiece.

"Explain your point." One of the female astronomers encourages.

April folds her arms across her chest. "Well think about it, the way the speed of light travels in light years, we never see other planets or stars in the present moment. We always see them as how they _were_ in the past. It's the same as looking at your own reflection in the mirror. Depending on your distance to your reflection, you're always looking at yourself in the past, never the present moment. Therefore we're looking at this new 'habitable' planet fifty six point three light years away that's," April hesitates for a moment. "God knows how many years in the past but it won't be the same now. And judging by the many different asteroids surrounding the plant and floating in its atmosphere, I doubt anything will be living on it now. Most likely the asteroids would have collided into the planet. At some point," April shrugs her shoulders. "Just a hazard guess. Could be wrong."

There is a moment of silence before the astronomers start to mutter among each other and take notes.

An hour passes and April starts to work with everyone as they study the planet: looking at the texture of the air and the ground, the amount of water it holds, the hotness of the air and what type of creatures would be able to survive on such a planet. Other astronomers start to measure the distance between the planet and the asteroids, the distance between each asteroid and the speed of their movement.

It is getting close to two o'clock that morning and April, along with one of the other female astronomers, Mrs Wimble, are standing on the balcony of the observatory, overlooking London. April clasps her flask of tea in her hands as the wind blow harshly. She runs her fingers through her mid-length black hair which is blowing in her face.

"Is this what you want to do in life?" Mrs Wimble asks after a long silence, taking in a drag of her cigarette. "Go up and see the stars and discover what's really out there?"

April nods as she purses her lips.

"You could do it you know," Mrs Wimble continues. "Go out and see the universe up close for real. I can see it: April Hollerford, the first female astronomer to land on Mars!" She chuckles lightly.

April snorts. "Because we _have_ that sort of advanced technology."

Mrs Wimble sighs. "Or maybe not."

April shifts on the spot. "Nah we'd never make it past the moon." She glances at Mrs Wimble. "And I'm not exactly an astronomer either."

" _Yet_."

"I don't have the qualifications." April's voice is merely a grumble.

Mrs Wimble laughs heartily. "And you're stopping yourself from getting them. You know that," she shifts turns to look at April. "April, your father was a good friend of ours. He was a fantastic inventor, you know that. He tried to enhance our equipment. There just wasn't enough money to make it. Unfortunately he was unsuccessful and businesses never bought his creative work. But since your parents..." she hesitates. "For the past five years with all the help you've given us and the true statements you've discovered yourself, I don't think you _need_ GCSE, A Level or even a degree to be part of our team. Someday, April, you will go out there to see the stars. I believe in you."

April looks down at her flask; the natural scowl on her face, which she has apparently had for most of her life, increases. The crease lines in her forehead becomes prominent. Mrs Wimble hopes to see April smile one day but the young girl never likes to talk about the reasoning's as why she seems so unhappy. Mrs Wimble constantly worries about April's mental health seeing as she never opens up to anyone which makes it increasingly hard for others to help her, let alone April to help herself.

April takes a sip of her coffee and remains silent.

Mrs Wimble changes her position so that she can face April rather than out to London. "How is it back at home?" She asks. "Has your therapist helped at all?"

April takes the last gulp of her coffee. Her scars on her wrists hidden under her hoodie sleeves suddenly start to feel like they are burning at the mention of her therapist.

"Yeah," She starts. "It's uhm…it's opened my mind a little."

Mrs Wimble sighs knowing that April is lying to her. "What about Bruce? He doesn't know you're here, does he?"

April's eyes hover over her flask before she pushes herself away from the metal rail. "I don't think he's quite recovered from my parent's death." April forces herself to smile but the smile does not reach her eyes, nor does it remove the scowl that constantly remains on her forehead. She lets her words hang in the air knowing that that is not the case. She knows that Mrs Wimble thinks the same.

"April," Mrs Wimble says softly. "You're parents died five years ago. He doesn't hurt you, does he?"

April hesitates for a little too long.

"April." Mrs Wimble warns.

"He doesn't," April lies. "He's just very distant."

It is clear that April is lying and that there is something she is hiding from, but Mrs Wimble doesn't bring up the subject again. Instead she looks back out to London again and finishes off her cigarette.

As it gets closer to four o'clock, April knows that it is only three hours before Bruce will wake up in time for work. She collects all her belongings, stuffing them back into her rucksack and leaves the observatory. She runs along the streets, taking the tube, going the same way she came and back to her cul-de-sac in Wandsworth.

Once she reaches her house, she climbs up on the top of the window ledge and using all her arm strength, she hauls herself through her bedroom window and clambers inside. However she clumsily knocks over a china model of a ballet dancer from the windowsill but catches it easily with one hand, stopping it from falling on the ground. Silence fills the house which is only quickly followed by Bruce's snoring. April manages to hide her rucksack away under her bed before setting her alarm and getting into her pyjamas.

Night slowly turns into dawn and April is so awake from the excitement of discovering a new planet that she can't even bring herself to attempt to try to fall asleep. Nor does she really want to sleep – excited or not.

But just as soon as she crawls into her bed that is a little too small for her, she hears a noise outside on the road. A quick high pitched machinery sound that only lasts a couple of seconds before it goes. April gets out of bed and moves over to the window. She looks out at the cul-de-sac. All that can be seen is a man wearing a long brown coat running away. April watches him with curiosity, sure that she has not seen him around this area before.

Once the man disappears, her neighbour's burglar alarm suddenly goes off. April jumps in fright and closes her eyes tightly in a panic.

In a matter of seconds, her anxiety starts to get the better of her. Her breathing becomes rapid and her throat closes up, making it harder for her to breathe. Before she has anytime to process her anxiety attack, her bedroom door bursts open.

It is only moments later before Bruce Fey storms across the room and out of his uncontrollable anger, knocks April unconscious on the floor.


	3. II - The nightmare

**A/N:** Just want to put a warning here about this next chapter. It is quite graphic (I won't lie) in terms of talking about self harm.

Hope you enjoy the rest though :)

* * *

 **II**  
 **The nightmare**

 _21st Century  
_ _Planet Earth  
_ _England  
_ _London_

April lays on her back on a brown leather chaise lounge, looking up at the ceiling of her therapist's office. The smell of burning jasmine fills the room and April can't help but notice the long crack in the ceiling just by the lampshade. The single crack is irritating and now that she has noticed it, she can't unnotice it. It is an office that always seems to be so spotless: everything clean and fresh and smells like jasmine. April wonders why no one would at least cover the crack in the ceiling with paint or something. It makes the whole room seem somewhat dirty and uncared for.

Her eyes drifts over to the polished brown, wooden walls as her therapist's voice flows over her head. April would have rather be back at her house then with her therapist, but she also would preferred to be here with her therapist rather than at her house with Bruce.

"April?" Her therapist calls which finally catches April's attention.

April turns her head to the left to look at her therapist who is sitting in the black leather armchair. Her left leg is crossed over her right and she holds a notepad. April notes that her therapist looks tired although it hasn't even reached midday. Her golden hair, which is usually swept up in a neat bun, is now tied in a low ponytail at the nape of her neck. She swivels a Parker pen in her right hand as she surveys April. The swivelling irritates April and she wants her to stop, yet it doesn't occur to her to ask her to. It isn't her position to tell her therapist what to do and what not to do.

Her therapist tilts her head to one side. "Is there anything you would like to tell me, April?" She asks. "You are looking a little shaken up."

Bruce only thumped April once around her head that morning after the burglar alarm went off, but his threats after she woke up still made April feel terrified and unsafe. It is a feeling she can never rid herself from.

When April doesn't respond, her therapist notes something in her notepad and then switches her legs, crossing her right over her left. She looks at the time and sighs.

"Well there's five minutes left of our session and you haven't told me a thing, April. I can't help you if you can't help yourself, and talking to me is a good start."

April looks back up at the crack in the ceiling and clasps her hands together resting them on her stomach. She is always told that she has to help herself if she wants others to help her. But it is the fact that April does not want any help. April does not accept help from others and is in no state of mind to help herself. Bruce has paid for these therapy sessions because, as he has told her many times, she is crazy. After her first suicide attempt, Bruce forced her to get help. April has tried to keep her other attempts as subtle as possible, but clearly were never enough.

However for a split second, April's mind changes and her scowl increases. The anxiety slowly bubbles away inside of her, but she manages to keep it down. If she were to ask for help, there would be one thing to trigger this idea.

And one of the reasons is that she refuses to sleep at night. And Bruce is not a reason why.

"I'm afraid to sleep at night." April finally admits.

Although April's voice is low, gruff and almost hard to hear, her therapist nods in understanding. "Any reason why?"

April closes her eyes momentarily and starts to twiddle her thumbs nervously. She has never spoken about this before and doesn't know where to start. It takes her a moment to compose herself before she speaks. "It's the same every night. The exact same nightmare."

There is a pause. "And is this something quite recent?"

April hesitates. "I've had it since my parent's death."

There is another pause as her therapist continues to take notes in her notepad. "The same nightmare for the past five years?"

"Yep."

"Every time you go to sleep?"

"Yep."

"The _exact_ same? Have there been any changes at all?"

"Nope."

"Are you parents in the dream?"

"No."

Her therapist sighs as she takes more notes. "Are you okay with telling me what happens?"

April takes in a deep breath as she tries to remember everything that happens in her nightmare. As the image of the Black Lighthouse flashes in her mind, April feels the burning pain in her chest that she usually feels when waking up after the nightmare. She doesn't show the pain in her face.

"There's a lighthouse at the end of a long beach," April starts slowly, her voice shaking as she speaks. "It's cold and I'm watching myself. I wake up every morning with a burning feeling in my chest. And it seems to be getting worse." April can sense her therapist watching her but she continues to stare up at the ceiling. She can't even bring herself to explain everything that happens in the nightmare, but there is one thing she never understands. She speaks again just before her therapist can say anything. "There's a voice halfway through. I can hear some sort of battle in the distance. But this voice calls out a name as if it was some sort of announcement."

"Do you remember what the name is?"

April hesitates. "Maxwell Hollerford." She turns her head to look at her therapist who looks rather solemn. "But there's no one in my family called Maxwell let alone Max. As far as I know, I'm the only one alive in the Hollerford family. Bruce is just a family friend who now looks after me," April lets out a loud sigh as she lets her hands drop to rest on the leather of the chaise lounge. "There's…" She pauses as her scowl increases. She draws her attention back to the crack in the ceiling. "I feel like there's a part of me missing. Almost as if I should have a sibling but I _don't_. I feel incomplete." She looks at her therapist who raises an eyebrow. April rolls her eyes and tips her head back, knowing that her therapist thinks her to be crazy.

"What do you fear the most, April?" She asks. "The icy cold atmosphere in the dream, or the fiery pain when you wake up in the morning?"

April looks down at her hands as she starts to twiddle her thumbs again. "I don't like ice."

The sound of the ticking clock on the shiny oak desk suddenly seems prominent and it is all April can concentrate on for a moment. Her therapist stands and walks over to a large wooden cabinet next to the bookcase which blends in with the wooden walls of the office. She says something along the lines of them running out of time, but their appointment the following week will be at the same time.

In the meantime, she gives April a present for her eighteenth birthday which is approaching later this week. April sits up in the chaise lounge and takes the present awkwardly. No one cares for her enough to give her presents. Judging by the weight, the size and the texture of it, April knows that it is some kind of book. As she rips off the perfectly folded, shiny wrapping paper, April looks at her new book in her hands. _The Stargazer's Notebook_ by Paul G. Abel. April turns it over to read the blurb before flicking through the book and smelling its pages.

"It'll help you to keep your mind off your nightmare or any more troubles you have. Whenever you feel like you want to physically hurt yourself or if your recent suicide ideas suddenly come to mind again, April, I want you to turn to your astronomy books and run away in space for a little while. It _will_ help," Her therapist smiles weakly. "I know how much you love learning about astronomy and your wish to see the stars, so I thought this may come in use. Besides it is your eighteenth birthday. You are legally an adult and Bruce's reign to look after you will no longer be applicable."

"Thank you." April mutters, nodding her head.

As soon as April stands up, her therapist draws out a pot of pills and passes them to her, telling her to take them every morning and night and warning her not to skip out on any pills or overdose. She hands them to April who turns the pot over and over in her hand, reading the word 'ANTIDEPRESSANTS' labelled on the side. Fluoxitine, forty milligrams.

Her therapist escorts her out the room and tells her to have a good birthday and that she will see her the following week. April turns to look at her therapist waving at her before leaving the doctor's surgery.

April waits at the bus stop for about ten minutes before her bus arrives to take her back to the main road near Wandsworth prison. She takes a seat by the window and watches the way the rain splatters on the window, clouding over the view of the city of London passing by. She continues to turn the pot of pills over and over in her hand, wishing that she could become invisible. Or even if she could die instantly she might find her happiness again on the other side. If there is one.

However what her therapist said about her eighteenth birthday has struck something inside of April. She can get away from Bruce. But that seems too be good to be true for she knows that he would probably find her again.

If she ran away, there would be nowhere for her to go. The cul-de-sac is the only home she has. To April, is seems that her own death is the only answer.

April jumps off the bus when they reach her stop. For a short while she stands on the pavement, letting the rain soak her a little. She doesn't decide to return to her house until she starts to feel a chill in her bones. Yet she does not feel any rush to get inside.

Despite the rain and the pleads from their mothers, the neighbouring children play a game of football in the small grassland in the bend of the road. They use the brick wall to the side of the house as a goal, sniggering as they do so, knowing how much it irritates the old man that lives in that house. The mothers who usually huddle together chatting amongst one another at this time of day are now standing in their doorways or leaning out their windows, shouting at the children to come back inside from the rain. April silently passes through the cul-de-sac but it is as if she is not there as the mothers storm past her to drag their children inside. However the children do notice April and continue to stare until they are back inside.

When everyone scuttles away back inside their houses, the cul-de-sac falls silent and for a moment all that can be heard is the heavy rainfall. As April gets closer to her house she pulls her scarf closer to her face as her breath condenses in the air. It seems unusually cold for March, almost as if the winter has extended slightly.

She hesitates at her front door and listens in for a moment. She knows that it is too early for Bruce to be home from work, yet the thought of him already being there is enough to stop April from entering. But still April takes out her house key and opens the front door.

She is greeted by many letters and junk mail advertising local kebab and Indian restaurants on the doormat. She hastily picks them up before stepping inside the house and closing the door behind her. She leaves the letters on the side, along with her house keys, knowing that Bruce will be able to tell if she has looked through his mail, and it will be enough for him to torture her. To be honest, her own existence is enough for him to torture her.

However, what April does not seem to notice as she chucks the mail on the side, is the letter at the bottom of the pile. A letter that is addressed to her.

April pulls off her scarf and enters the small living room. It is not often she has the chance to hang around the living room and feel safe, so she thinks that for the time being, she can make the most of it. However it is not the case. The moment she steps into the room, she accidentally knocks over a pile of books on the floor. April curses aloud to herself as she falls to her knees and desperately picks up the books. Bruce will know she has kicked them over. He will be able to tell because they are not in the same order. Or he will be able to tell because he seems to know everything she does, almost as if he is constantly watching her every move.

April doesn't stay in the living room for long. Having knocked over the books is enough to shake her and the smell of the room always reminds her of the day she was informed of her parents death. Instead April turns into the kitchen, feeling some sort of strange motivation to make herself lunch. Although she knows that her stomach will reject the food she eats.

She scans the cupboard but nothing seems at all that appealing to her. A sense of panic and fear flows through her, which seems almost normal. Perhaps the art of preparing a sandwich may calm her down. However she finds that there isn't even any bread in the cupboard. With a sigh of frustration, April leans against the counter and looks out the window overlooking their tiny garden. All that is in the garden is a shed in one corner and over-grown grass.

The rain continues to patter heavily against the window.

April drops her gaze, noticing the bread knife to her right in the corner of her eye. The desire to hurt herself comes over her quicker than a bullet piercing her heart. What she does next is somewhat natural.

She slowly pulls up the sleeve of her hoodie and examines all the scars up her wrist: some brand new, some that have formed a scab and a few that are almost gone. Her therapist's voice telling her to run away in space if she ever wanted to hurt or kill herself runs in her head.

April closes her eyes tightly, resisting the urge to pick up the knife and slit her wrists again. She knows that she can easily take her own life there and then by slitting her wrist vertically. She has done it before but mysteriously, it didn't work.

Before she has the time to change her thoughts, she picks up the bread knife and slashes it across her wrist five times. As she does so, she thinks to herself, "This is fucked up."

April freezes on the spot for a while as she stares at her ruined wrist. The blood slowly pours down and she can't help the tears that fill her eyes. Different emotions overcome April and she allows herself to cry. She suddenly realises that she has spoken aloud about her nightmare for the first time since she stated having it. For the first time since her parents death, she strongly wishes for help. She wishes for the time she used to be content. Her parents were alive and there was nothing that upset her other than normal things children cry about like what colour crayon to pick or a lost Barbie doll.

April clenches the fist of her bleeding wrist and sobs silently, chocking on her own tears. It is the first time in a long while she has felt this much emotion, and yet she does not have the energy to voice her feelings. She knows that somehow she can heal her own life. But she does not know where to start, let alone how. Instead she continues to sob silently.

It isn't until she starts to feel anger towards herself for crying so much that she wipes her tear stained cheeks and searches the kitchen for the first aid box. When she finds it behind the sink, she holds her bleeding wrist under cold running water and uses her other hand to open the box and pull out a few bandages. Her hands shake vigorously but she copes. It takes a long while for the bleeding to slow down. But when it eventually does, she wraps her wrist up with bandages. She then pulls the sleeve of her hoodie over her wrist, covering up what she has just done.

April stands there for a few moments more as she composes herself. She takes out the pot of anti-depressants her therapist gave her. It doesn't take April long before she pops open the pot and pours them down the sink.

* * *

 _The sound of harsh waves from the sea smacking into the shore is the first thing that is heard before the view of the beach comes into view. The pebbled beach stretches out in front holds no existing life forms: no seagulls gliding through the dark grey air, no crabs scuttling across the slimy rocks looking for shells. Even the sea is empty. There is no life form in existence. To the left is a tall cliff made out of some sort of dark grey material which may have passed as being rock on first glance but on a closer look, it is evident it isn't. Just on top of the cliff is a long stretch of damp grassland that looks like it stretches on forever. The short grass blows wildly in the harsh wind. Running along the bottom of the cliff is an array of slimy rocks, mostly covered in seaweed with hidden rock pools down the gaps. It is clear that from the texture of the rocks they were once part of the cliff but have fallen off in the past due to erosion and the harsh wind that constantly blows. At the far end of the small beach where the cliff ends is a long, low stone wall which stretches out right to the sea. The end is slowly starting to crumble away from the waves smacking into it. Not quite in the middle of the wall, closer to the cliff's edge, is an iron gate. Only a few feet on the other side of the wall is where a small patch of grassland meets the sea that surrounds the whole beach. Then just behind the wall, opposite the cliff is the lonely Black Lighthouse sitting on a circular stretched-out corner of the Island. An empty lighthouse where every so often the lights at the top will flash a very bright white light which lights up the whole grey sky for that instant second._

 _April knows she is dreaming. This same scenery is seen in her mind every night she sleeps. For April, it is one of those dreams where she isn't herself but standing back as something or someone else, watching what her body double is doing. She always feels it weird as she watches herself stand on the slimy rocks, looking out towards the Black Lighthouse from someone else's perspective. She always takes note of her windswept black hair that needs a good trim. She also notes that she is standing bare foot. Her choice of clothing is a bright red t-shirt and skinny black jeans, both of which she knows are somewhere in her wardrobe. Any scars that may be on her arms are not visible from her point of view._

 _For a short while, everything seems to be at ease and the only thing she really begins to notice is the bitterly cold air around her. It is a horrible icy chill that she can't ever quite describe other than colder than a winter's night. Maybe the feeling of being trapped in an ice cube – if not colder._

 _But it isn't long before her crippling anxiety starts to take over. It happens so quickly. April's mind starts to scream at her body double to run. Run away as fast as she can and get off the beach straight away because she knows what is about to happen. However even if she opens her mouth to scream, no sound ever comes out. This is when April starts to realise that she cannot move her feet or any other part of her body. It feels as if she is slowly starting to turn into ice, starting at her heart. It happens every time._

 _The Black Lighthouse flashes for the first time, just as soon as a wave smashes into the shoreline. April can always hear the wave but never turns to see it. By the time the Black Lighthouse flashes for the second and the third time, she starts to feel a burning pain inside her chest. She cannot tell if it is the icy air or something different. But whatever it is it feels as if there is something inside her eating away at her soul._

 _Her body double takes a step forward as the sound of a deep male's voice rings out,_

" _Welcome to the Day of Destruction!" His voice is muffled out by the sound of another wave crash. The pain in her chest starts building up and there is a loud drum roll as the male's voice called out the name: Maxwell Hollerford._

 _April's body double lets out a terrified scream as she falls to her knees, choking on her own tears._

 _The Black Lighthouse flashes for the fourth time. And then a dark smoky shadow starts to disperse from the lighthouse, heading in her direction._

 _Hundreds of people scream over in the far left, maybe on top of the cliff. The screams echo around the whole beach, followed by sounds of weapons firing. April knows that there is some battle happening but she can't see it. Instead she remains standing on the slimy rocks as she watches her body double being dragged towards the Black Lighthouse by something this dark shadow. She watches herself cry out in terror for help as the icy pain in her chest continues to burn away her soul._

 _The Black Lighthouse flashes for the fifth and final time. Her knees tremble as she starts to fall…_

* * *

April jolts awake with a whimper, her body tangled in her bed sheets. It takes her a few moments to remember where she is and that it was only her nightmare. She is safe for the time being. Her dark bedroom slowly starts to come into focus as the icy pain in her chest eases ever so slightly and turns into fiery pain. The pain seems to last longer than usual before it starts to die down, but April knows that this time, the fiery burn in her chest has become more painful since the last.

Sweat pours down her face and she desperately wants a glass of water to cool down. As she shakily turns over to her side, she reaches for her alarm clock to check the time. It is only 4:32 in the morning. She knows that she can't risk sneaking around the house without waking up Bruce while she is still shaking with terror. However she is too afraid to close her eyes and fall back asleep again.

Instead April wraps her arms around her chest and curls up in a ball, shivering with fear. She stays this way for the rest of the night.

It isn't until light starts seeping through her thick bedroom curtains that April slowly sits up in her bed and rubs her eyes. The fiery burn in her chest has finally subsided and her body starts to cool down, yet her throat yearns for water. She remains as silent and as still as possible as she listens out for Bruce. Nothing is heard at first but she is sure that he is asleep as he is very rarely awake this early in the morning. Once she is certain that her trembling has stopped, she hauls herself out of bed, trying to make as little sound as possible.

Hearing Bruce's snores when out in the hallway makes April feel safer as she goes down the stairs and into the kitchen to pour a glass of water. She gulps down the water greedily as it clears her throat. Once done, she places the glass down on the counter and looks out the window, admiring the waning moon that hangs high in the pink sky. April always likes it when you can still see the moon in the sky in early morning.

April remains standing there there for a few moments before her pale skin starts to form goose bumps. She looks down at her arms, watching her dark hairs as it stands on end, before turning over her arms to examine her wrists. Her left wrist was still covered in bloodied bandages. She has to change it for a new clean one. Most of the scars on her right wrist were starting to fade, but since she is right handed, it is easier just to slit her left. She runs her thumb gingerly over her scars and flinches a little at the pain as she remembers physically drawing the blade across her delicate skin.

April's attention is quickly drawn away from her wrists when a high pitched machinery sound appears and vanishes just as quickly as it did before. April jumps just as she hears it and before she knows it, she is running to the front of the house. She swings open the front door and finds the same man with the long brown coat wavering behind him as he runs away from the cul-de-sac. The way he runs is almost identical to how he ran before. April hesitates on the spot before she steps out onto the front lawn.

"Hey!" She calls after the man but he does not turn around or even stop running. Ignoring the fact that she is bare footed and still in her pyjamas, April takes a determined step forward to run after the man but she is immediately pulled back into the house before her feet even touches the lawn.

"Where do you think you're going?" Bruce growls as he grips hold of her hair, pulling her head back. April whimpers in fright but clenches her teeth together in order to stop herself from crying aloud.

"Answer me!" He shouts as he throws April to the wooden floor letting her land in a crumpled heap. April slowly lifts her shaking hand to her right cheekbone and feels blood pouring out of a long cut. As she turns over, she looks up at Bruce looming over her. His stumpy body towers over her. Although heavy with sleep, his eyes are burning with fiery anger, his round face red with fury. His, what usually was slick black hair combed to one side, is stuck to his forehead. He terrifies her to the core.

Bruce groans loudly as he straightens his posture.

"Pathetic," He hisses. "I never thought that Declan and Suzette Hollerford would ever produce such a feeble offspring. You don't belong here, you swine! I don't even know why I have to put up with you."

"Put up with me?" April whispers as she tries to push herself up off the floor but her arms struggle to hold her body weight. "You chose to stay here for me."

In a whir of the moment, Bruce hauls April to her feet and pins her against the banister, his large hand locked around her throat. She doesn't even attempt to pull his hand away, almost as if he has done this many times before.

"You remember that deal we made?" He says, his voice somewhat calm and controlled. "The days pass without a word from you uttered. The neighbours take you as shy and think we're happy and recovered from your parent's death." Bruce glances down at April's arms, noticing her scars for the first time. He releases her throat as he grips hold of her arm, his fingers digging into her scars. April cries out in pain and coughs for air at the same time, nearly falling to her knees, but Bruce keeps her on her feet.

"What the fuck are these?" He growls, shaking her.

April is unable to reply.

"Sometimes I would rather you dead."

April looks at his shoulder, afraid to look him in the eye. For a split second, she thinks she has seen something just over his shoulder. For that one moment, it looks like a tadpole floating in the air that vanishes as quickly as it comes. But she knows that she is only seeing things from dizziness.

"Well perhaps I'll be dead before I turn eighteen." She croaks.

Bruce looks at her hard before releasing her. "Not another word from you." He says before turning to the stairs. But before he makes a move, he turns back to April and hits her across her face. Silence fills the narrow hallway before Bruce returns to his bedroom.

April feels her stomach churning and waits until Bruce's bedroom door slams shut before she rushes into the kitchen and retches violently in the sink. When there is nothing else in her stomach to release, she wipes a shaking hand across her mouth before falling on the cold tiled floor. April balls the neckline of her pyjama top into her mouth to stop herself from screaming aloud.

 _End your life_ , April thinks to herself. _End it yourself before Bruce does_.


	4. III - Doctor What

**III  
** **Doctor What**

 _21_ _st_ _Century  
Planet Earth  
_ _England  
_ _London_

April's cries echo around the house the following afternoon as she sits on the floor of the hallway, her back up against the wall and her knees close to her chest. She sobs uncontrollable tears, the tears she has been holding beck as she waited for Bruce to leave the house for work. However remembering that the neighbours can hear her through the thin walls, she manages to control herself. Somehow the memory of the day she found out about her parent's death comes to mind.

It was five years ago on her thirteenth birthday. They were celebrating her birthday together in the house. As it struck noon, there was a phone call and her father's mood had changed drastically. Her mother, Suzette was aware of Declan's change in mood but did everything she could to keep April preoccupied. April had also noticed it but pretended she didn't as Declan took her mother into the kitchen to have a quiet word. April tried to listen in to their conversation through the door but heard nothing else other than some mention about a unit and the repeated mention of a doctor. The tail end of the conversation was about a battle, a battle of something but the work sounded inhuman to April she no longer remembers it. Her mother came back into the room to tell her that they had been called into a quick check up with her father's business and that they wouldn't be longer than half an hour. April pretended that she was okay with them leaving but even then she had sensed that something was wrong and something bad was bound to happen. Declan ran his own business to try and sell off his own inventions to other companies. But his business was not that successful and everyone had little interest in what Declan had created. But to stop her parents from worrying about her, she pretended that she didn't suspect anything as she examined the telescope they had given her as a gift. Although the family had very little money, she was shocked to receive such a gift. Her father kissed her on the forehead and promised her that they would return in no time at all, yet the look in his eyes said otherwise. April watched them out the lounge window as they climbed into the car and drove away in a hurry. Once the sound of the car was out of ear shot, April rushed into her parent's room and searched all of their drawers in hope to find something that would at least make it clearer as to why her parents had suddenly acted all strange and where they would have driven off to. But she found nothing other than her mother's payslips from her full-time job at the local supermarket and paperwork her father had written out about his inventions, and a file about some science company called United Nations Intelligence Taskforce. There was a lot that her parents never told her. Declan's work was always top secret and he never spoke about his friends or colleagues. The only friends he ever spoke about were Bruce Fey who was the best man to their wedding, and Harry Summerland, a childhood friend who unfortunately died of illness a few years back.

April really started to panic when her parents had gone for over an hour. But as soon as there was a knock at the door, almost two hours later, April rushed back downstairs feeling somewhat relieved to hear the door but then hesitated once she got to the bottom of the stairs, knowing that something was very wrong. If it was her parents back home, why were they knocking on the door? She knew it was someone else. When she opened the door, she wasn't surprised to see two officers standing there. They were not police officers nor were they from the army, navy or the RAF. They wore black military suits that were rather worn down for wear as if they had just been in a fight. They both wore an identical silver badge over their hearts. It was a circular metal badge with their surname at the top and underneath stating U.N.I.T. The officer's eyes were glassy with tears and panic was evidently shown across their faces, but their voices were very sincere as they delivered the news that her parents were killed in a terrible car accident. April didn't believe it. Knowing the way her parents had acted before they left, she knew that she was being lied to, but both the officers insisted that the car accident was the cause of their death. April screamed out and started to hit the officers, tears spluttering out her eyes as she demanded them to tell her the truth.

She slept in a children's hospital the following nights until Bruce was eligible to take care of her. Being Declan's best man at his wedding, he was given permission to take care of April from then on. However the moment they returned home, the beating started, and Bruce used to beat up April as if it was her fault that her parents were dead. Before her thirteenth birthday, Bruce was a family friend. Years later April fears him.

April's thirteenth birthday seemed like a change reaction to different things in her life. It was the start of Bruce's attacks. It was also the time her nightmares began. The night of her thirteenth birthday and night after night after that, she would have the same dream with the same setting and the same pain when she woke up. Now nearly at the age of eighteen, April is still not sure why she is still alive. No attempts after her first ever killed her. It feels like there is something that is holding her back.

The memory of the day her parents death is still clear in April's mind and she wishes to forget it. But how can she forget it when she doesn't know the truth? Her parents spoke about some sort of battle. Why did they die?

Days pass by slowly and nights seem to pass even slower as April continues to see that beach every time she falls asleep. She sometimes finds herself almost drifting off to sleep at midday but jolts awake in terror once the image of the Black Lighthouse flashes in her vision. As the hours pass, she starts to plan different ways in which she can kill herself. She wants her death to look like a murder so Bruce would get punishment from it. But once she reads through her astronomy books, it keeps her mind off suicidal thoughts for the time being, just as her therapist said.

Soon enough it is April's eighteenth birthday and she feels almost a little proud of herself for reaching her birthday still alive. She tries to remove all thoughts of suicide from her mind to enjoy the day. Early in the morning she lights a few candles and makes a wish that she will go out to see the stars for real. She repeats the wish in her mind three times before blowing the candles out.

April spends the rest of the day sitting on her bed as she reads through her astronomy books. She takes down any notes that may be of use for when she next sneaks out to the observatory. She draws out star charts, mapping out all the stars that can be seen in the northern and southern hemispheres. She then makes a plan to visit the observatory again that night.

As night falls and Bruce is sound asleep in his room, April gets herself ready to leave. She packs a bag as usual, climbs out the windows and runs to Clapham Junction to take the tube to the observatory. All the astronomers there greets her with smiles and a birthday cake which April does not eat. They spend a couple of hours working on the new planet they discovered and run more tests. By four in the morning, April makes her way back home.

As she passes through the cul-de-sac, panic suddenly strikes her when the short high pitched sound comes and goes again. April stops dead in her tracks and turns around sharply. But the man with the long coat is nowhere in sight. April's breath starts to become shallow as she scans the cul-de-sac, expecting something to happen for Bruce to wake up and attack her, just like he did twice before.

However what happens next is something she is not expecting. There is a voice she does not recognise. A low male's voice that seems to be carried around by the cold air. The voice calls out a few times and it can be heard all the way from her house. But the voice does not belong to Bruce.

April remains routed to the spot in the road as the listens to the voice that seems to be getting closer and closer to her. The voice is calling her name.

She seems to be completely alone in the cul-de-sac. But as she turns back to her house she finds the front door wide open. April knows that she mustn't follow the sound but something is telling her that she is safe and that Bruce will not get to her.

Letting curiosity get the better of her, April starts to follow the voice. She finds herself entering the dark house and closing the door behind her. She then walks over to the kitchen. Looking through the window, she sees what looks like a small blue hologram of a man at the end of the garden, standing on the recently mowed lawn, watching her.

April stares at him for a long time, wondering if she is actually seeing what she is seeing, or if she has gone delirious. Surely its a reflection from the moon off her neighbour's television. However the problem is that it is four in the morning and the sky is completely clouded over.

Knowing full well that she is delirious, if not completely losing her mind, April picks up the back door key and walks out into the garden. She stares at the hologram as she closes the door behind her. It feels like by closing the door she is creating a barrier between them and Bruce inside.

The hologram of the man is about twelve inches high. He wears a long coat and a suit and tie. He has white sneakers on his feet. His hair looks full and spiky. He stands there with his feet apart and his hands in his trouser pockets.

Yeah. This is some sort of weird trick.

April glances around the garden only to find that there is nothing around her to reflect this small man.

The hologram and April stare at each other for a long while, both standing at either end of the garden.

"Who are you?" She asks as she eventually takes a slow, shy step forward, although she feels like an idiot talking to something she is probably imagining.

But the man smiles broadly as if he has listened to her.

"I'm the Doctor. Hello." He replies and waves at her. "Sorry to interfere, I'm not exactly sure what time it is but it looks like we're at night. What's your name?" The man's voice is so cheerful April finds herself recoiling in on herself.

What is going on? Has she become so lonely that she's envisioned an imaginary friend?

April slowly walks across the garden, her scowl deepening as she examines the man who names himself as a doctor. Doctor of what she doesn't know. He certainly doesn't look like any doctor she has met before. She kneels down in the grass once she is close to him. The man's face looks quite expectant, almost as if he is expecting her to reply to his question, but the frown on April's face surprises him.

"You should know. You were calling my name." She mutters before touching the hologram, making him fuzz.

So this is definitely real.

"Hey stop that!" He snaps as he turns to the side and starts pressing something she can't see. "You'll interfere with my ship! I just need to talk to you! Just tell me I've got it right."

"April Hollerford." April says in a low voice. Despite the fact that her voice is almost inaudible, this doctor still understands her.

At the sound of her name, the man grins broadly and his posture suddenly relaxes. "Well, hello April Hollerford. It's good to finally meet you!"

"Who are you? And why are you a hologram in my fucking garden?"

"Okay we'll have none of that language," the man warns. "I was a good friend of your parents. Declan and Suzette. I've just come to check up on you and see how you are."

April pauses for a long moment as she scowls down at the man. "They never knew a doctor."

"Well I don't suppose you would have understood at the time."

"There was a lot my parents rarely told me. United Nations Intelligence Taskforce for one. Why they are dead in the first place. I know the story I'm told about the car accident is bullshit."

"That is how they died."

"You should know the truth since you claim to know them so well." April snaps and then there is a long silence, the man looking rather pitiful. "What sort of doctor are you?" She asks as she examines the hologram of this man.

The man looks at her and smiles. "Just call me the Doctor."

"Doctor of what?"

"Just the Doctor."

"Doctor what?!"

"Doctor _who_."

"Huh?"

The man's smile quickly vanishes. "Sorry," He mutters. "Doctor _what_ is a new one," The man hesitates as he watches April, almost as if he is examining her and trying to make a judgement out of her constant scowl. "Sorry for the inconvenience but what's the date? And the time would be great too."

April pauses a moment. "It's mid April. And it's about four in the morning. Why?"

"Mid April...have you had your birthday yet?"

April hesitates. "It was yesterday."

"Well happy birthday for yesterday! You're eighteen now so that means you have the freedom to live your life away from here," The man smiles once again. "So if I told you to go and pack your bags and runaway with me in five days would you? As a birthday treat."

April opens her mouth momentarily but closes it again as she sits down on the grass and crosses her legs. "What runaway with a hologram?"

"I'm not just a hologram. I'm a hologram of me. I'm in my ship at the moment."

"You're in your ship?"

"Yeah."

"What sitting on the Thames or something?" April mocks.

The Doctor looks thoughtful for a moment. "Of a sort. Maybe."

"What makes you think that I would run away with some man I don't even know who goes by the title of a doctor in his _ship_?"

"Hey don't mock me!"

"It's all a little bizarre though, isn't it?"

"Look I'm here for your parents. I'm making sure you're okay."

"And I'm fine."

"You're scowling at me, so you're not. And you've got a yellow bruise on your cheek."

"Who are you, Doctor?" April's voice becomes quite impatient as she starts to panic.

The Doctor smiles. "Glad you're calling me Doctor."

"Whatever. Am I supposed to know you because you knew my parents?" April grunts when he doesn't reply. "Why were you running away from here?" She asks. The Doctor looks a little quizzical. "Twice I heard a sound. It only lasted for a second or so but as soon as it was gone, I saw you running away. I called after you but you never got back to me."

"Well I'm always running, April. Everywhere I go. Every city, every planet. I'm running to people, I'm running away from people."

April snorts. "Every planet? This is ridiculous."

"April, would you believe me if I told you my ship is a time machine?"

"Try me."

"Well it is. It disappears one time and place and reappears somewhere else. All across time and space."

April watches him for a moment. "And you expect me to believe that this meeting is accidental and that because you knew my parents, you think that you'll just check up on me and ask me to run away with you just because you have a time machine?" April purses her lips. "It sounds like a story my father would tell me at bedtime," She mutters to herself. "This would be a miracle if I'm dreaming right now."

"I'm only just passing through. Got a little time tracked as I tried to chase something. I'm a bit lost but I guess you could call it _fate_ that I ended up here."

April raises an eyebrow. "If I was stupid I'd think you're a conman."

"Well I can tell you're intelligent enough. You have your parent's bravery _and_ their curiosity. I haven't met many people who are as curious as you are," He then smiles again. "So what do you say, April Hollerford? Will you pack your bags and run away with me in five days?"

April looks down at the grass which she starts to pick. "No," she replies. "Doctor or not, family friend or not, I can't trust you. I believe that you're not meant to be here and I can see that you're lonely and think that some random girl would run away with you. Fat chance, Doctor _What_!" April then flinches at the sound of Bruce storming down the stairs from inside the house. She curses under her breath as she rushes to her feet, but before she can reach the kitchen, Bruce bursts open the back door and lets out an almighty roar, accusing her for talking to someone.

April, feeling a little more confident after meeting the strange hologram, is strong and tells Bruce that she wasn't talking to anyone and that he was only imagining it. As Bruce raises his fist to hit her, April closes her eyes, waiting for the blow, but then nothing happens. Bruce releases his grip and then goes back into the house without another word. April stands on the spot, speechless, wondering why Bruce didn't hit her.

April turns around to see the Doctor still there, looking rather confused and horrified before he vanishes. She runs to the spot, bends over, pats the grass and softly calls for him but he never returns. April stands up and looks at her surroundings and the clouds above her. It then hits her that her parents had never mentioned to her about this man.

Right now, April has never felt so far away from the life her parents lived.


	5. IV - Runaway

**IV  
Runaway**

 _21st Century  
_ _Planet Earth  
_ _England  
_ _London_

As night turns to morning, April shuts herself in her room. She doesn't want to risk trying to leave the house in case the high pitched sound is heard again and this doctor to make another appearance. Each time she has seen him, running away or in his hologram appearance, Bruce always finds a way to beat her each time. She is always caught. However there is a slight change in Bruce tonight. When he catches April making breakfast in the kitchen, he ignores her. Instead of yelling at her or attacking her, he brushes past her to fry up some bacon. April cowers in the corner, wanting to run out and hide in her bedroom but she is intrigued on the fact that Bruce doesn't acknowledge her apart from an occasional slide glance. Yet he turns his head away once he catches her eye, almost as if he is trying to avoid her. His face seems paler than normal.

Four days later and an idea comes to April's mind, one that makes her want to laugh but she can't. The Doctor's voice asking her to run away with him in five days has been ringing in her ears. Technically she is an adult now so Bruce won't have the right to go after her. Even her therapist told her that now she is eighteen, Bruce no longer has right to look after her. Where will she go she doesn't know seeing as there is no one else in the Hollerford family that is still alive for her to turn to. The observatory is the only place to go, although it is a place she can't stay in. The astronomers will know and will send her back home.

April sits in her room, thinking about where she could go and what she is going to do to build her life up again. Never has she ever felt this much hope in starting again.

Then close to midnight, while Bruce is fast asleep, April packs her bags. Packing the remaining clothes she owns, all her astronomy books and a photo frame with a photo of her parents, standing in the snow with their arms wrapped round each other as they smile at the camera.

By the fifth day since seeing the Doctor, Bruce leaves the house for work, warning her that he wants to see that the rubbish bags have been taken out by the time he comes back. An hour after Bruce leaves, April grabs onto her bag and fleas the house for good. Along the way, she picks up the rubbish bags and carries it outside.

The cold spring air blows in the wind and April quickly surveys the cul-de-sac. She is thankful to see no one in sight. She takes in a deep breath as she picks up the heavy rubbish bag and carries it over to their dustbin which is propped up by the brick wall along with other dustbins.

Without further ado, April opens the dustbin lid and throws the bag in, ignoring the bright yellow glow at the bottom of the bin. As she drops the lid and turns to leave, she finds herself stopping in her tracks and turning to face the bin again; noticing that she never heard the rubbish bag hit the bottom. She isn't sure if the yellow glow was a fragment of her imagination, but the more she thinks about it, the more she becomes aware of the sound of muffled jazz music playing.

Putting her rucksack down on the gravel, April places both her hands on the lid, feeling it vibrate under her palms.

"What the...?" April mutters under her breath in confusion as she opens the lid and looks inside.

Instead of seeing the bottom of the bin where the rubbish bags should have landed, she sees a bright yellow glow that covers the whole of the bottom. Glenn Miller music blares out and the sound of laughter and glasses clinking together is also heard.

April slowly leans forward into the bin and reaches her hand towards the glow, feeling warm air blowing towards her. Nearly losing her balance, April leans back out of the bin and closes the lid, muffling the sound of music and laughter. She turns around to see that still there is no one around to witness this. She is alone in the cul-de-sac.

Wanting to shrug off this strange happening, desperate to get away, April then goes to pick up her bags. But no matter how hard she tries to move, all of a sudden she can't take her feet off the ground.

April starts to panic as she looks down at her feet. When she lifts her leg, the ground beneath her seems to stretch wherever her foot goes, almost as if the gravel is stuck to the soles of her trainers like chewing gum. She then feels the warm air on her back and a strong force that seems to be pulling her towards the bin.

"What the actual fuck?" Is all April can think of.

April manages to grip hold of one of the other bins but the force pushing her is too strong. April's grip slips as she is pulled back into the bin. The yellow glow sucks her in and she falls through a never ending tunnel. The first thing that April thinks when she falls is a line from Lewis Carroll's _Alice's Adventures in Wonderland_ : " _So many out-of-the-way things had happened lately, that Alice had begun to think that very few things indeed were really impossible_."

The dustbin lid slams shut. The music and laughter ceases and the glow vanishes. The only trace of April left is her rucksack that is left lying on the gravel.


	6. v - Back in time

**V  
Back in time**

 _20_ _th_ _Century  
_ _Planet Earth  
_ _England  
_ _London  
_ _1943_

April finds herself lying on her stomach, her face in something that feels like grass. Her ears are ringing loudly, obscuring her hearing from anything else. Her head hurts from the fall. Yet she doesn't remember landing, only falling.

As she slowly breathes in, she can heavily smell the soft damp grass, mixed with the smell of a bonfire and fumes. The smell only becomes stronger the more she breathes in. This gives her a little motivation to remove her face from the damp grass. April eventually manages to roll onto her back and tries to get the world around her into focus. It is night time for sure and April's first thought is that she suspects she must be lying in the little grass area in the cul-de-sac and that Bruce has decided to leave her out there. But once the ringing in her ears stops and the sound of planes flying overhead, guns firing and bombs exploding in the distance can be heard, April knows that she is no longer in the cul-de-sac.

And probably no longer in Wandsworth.

When her vision finally becomes clearer, April realises that the night sky has more of a brown hue to it rather than black and glittering with stars. Thick clouds are dotted around here and there and April can see bright flashes behind these clouds which evidently do not look like lightning strikes. She then starts to wonder how long she has been lying there since it was only mid-morning when she left the house.

With a groan, April props herself up on her elbows for a short while before slowly sitting up. Her head pounds heavily and spins. Her head suddenly starts to rush and she feels like she might be sick.

When another bomb explodes in the distance, April has a look at her surroundings. However her head is hurting so much she isn't too sure of what she is seeing is really there. She is still in London definitely, but where in London is not clear.

Fear and dread suddenly hits April as she watches the sky. British wartime planes fly in and out of the clouds and fire at something in the distance. April's head starts to feel heavy as she leans back on her elbows again. She remains there and waits until her head calms down. As it does, she notices a grey stone wall not far in front of her. There are about half a dozen posters stuck to the wall, all saying the same thing: HE WILL ATTACK WITHOUT WARNING.

April snorts in disbelief as she finally pushes herself onto her feet and walks over towards the posters. It is clear that she has been transported back in time to the Second World War and April takes this fact surprisingly calmly. She knows who is behind it.

"Doctor," She mutters as she runs a finger gingerly over a rip in one of the posters. "Oh no you don't!" In a flurry of panic, April takes a step away from the wall just as someone in the distance calls her name.

April spins around to see him – the man who calls himself a doctor – this time, running towards her, rather than away. His long brown coat still wavering behind him. April narrows her eyes as he gets closer to her and is surprised how tall he is in comparison to his hologram. Once he reaches her side, he takes her firmly by the hand, but April's first reaction to the touch of another person is to snatch it back.

Momentarily April holds her hand he tried to take to her chest as she glares up at him. The Doctor looks down at her, worry and frustration in his eyes. April frowns at him as he watches her, breathing heavily.

"April, I don't care what you think of me but we need to get away from here _now_!" The Doctor warns.

April nods and before she can think twice about it, she finds herself running alongside the Doctor through wartime London. It is an urgent matter and for some unknown reason, everything starts clicking into place for April. Like running off with a stranger - who claims to have known her parents - during the Blitz is a normal thing to happen to her. But right at this moment, April is more concerned about running as far away as they possibly can, in fear of a bomb landing on them.

Not being a good runner herself, April struggles to keep up with the Doctor's standards and struggles to catch her breath after a while. The smoke around them from fires and bombs does not exactly help. The Doctor notices April slightly lagging behind and reaches to push her forward. However this gesture reaching towards her is enough to get April to run faster.

They turn corners, taking back alleyways, jumping over garden fences and running down neighbourhoods. A bomb explodes on a road they are about to turn into, so the Doctor finds another route which extends their running time.

They eventually reach a children's park and when April hesitates for a brief second, the Doctor shouts at her to open gate and go straight into the blue police box. Finding out that the gate is locked, April clambers over the low iron gate and runs towards the blue police box that is hidden behind a slide. She stops at the sight of the box, holding her hand to her stomach to catch her breath.

"So this is your ship. This is your _time_ machine." April says in a mocking tone as she hears the Doctor behind her fumbling for keys. She doesn't quite believe it as it seems too bizarre. A part of her finds it rather amusing that this is actually happening, yet she finds that she can't smile. Not right now.

The Doctor unlocks the door and turns to look at April. "Just get inside. It's safer."

April opens her mouth to return with a snide comment but the sound of a bomb falling right above their head stops her. Despite the fact that she is not too keen on this conman, April still feels like she wants to save her own life. It is a feeling she had not felt since the death of her parents.

She feels the Doctor pushing her in through the doors of his ship so quickly they both end up falling flat on their faces on metal flooring. The door slams shut just as the bomb explodes outside. The ship merely shakes.

For a brief moment there is silence. Silence in the ship and silence outside. However this is quickly followed by a a rumbling sound as the Doctor jumps to his feet and runs forward. April hesitates for a second before she slowly pushes herself up off the floor and takes in her surroundings.

"Welcome to my ship!" The Doctor gleams with pride.

April blinks a couple of times as she slowly turns around in a circle, examining every little detail around her. What shocks her most is the fact that it feels like they have stepped into a completely different dimension seeing as the room around her is so large. They are not in the tight, square room to fit inside a police public call box.

She admires the huge stone-like pillars that is a lighter colour to the yellowish walls. The walls are covered in hexagonal shapes all ranging in sizes from the top of the walls to the bottom. The walls curve upwards and ends at a circular roof. On both sides to April are two metal rails that lead to the door they came in through. In the middle of the ship is some sort of round console with green lights radiating off its surface. In the middle of the console is a long, light green tube that attaches to the ceiling. April admits to herself that the structure of his ship is very beautiful and peculiar and almost alien.

"This is one of many rooms in my ship," The Doctor continues. "I've called her the Tardis. It stands for Time and Relevant Dimension in Space. She'll take you anywhere in the universe. With a few presses of buttons and leavers here and there, she'll take you anywhere you want," The Doctor looks down at the console as he strokes it before snapping back to look at April's quizzical face. "Anything you would like to say?" He seems as excited as a child at Christmas and April can tell that he has said this many times before. His words seem a little too over rehearsed and it makes April feel a little sorry for him. Maybe he is a lonely man. Yet she can't help but to not feel too impressed at all. It takes a lot to impress April and this isn't that impressive. Maybe it's because of the Doctor's charm or the slight arrogance he has when talking that irritates her. April doesn't know why she ran off with this man when her parents always taught her to stay clear of the people you have a bad encounter with them on the first time. She didn't even ask to come here. He's pulled her back in time without her consent. Surely that's kidnapping? She recoils a little.

April stands up and brushes off invisible dust from her jeans. She then watches the Doctor for a moment before pointing her thumb to the doors behind her. "Pull to open?"

The Doctor's wide grin drops very quickly and he frowns. "What?"

"You pushed them open."

For a moment the Doctor looks quite amused before he seems awkward and lost for words. "Oh right, this is very new," he mutters more to himself as he scratches the back of his head. "First it's Doctor What and now you won't even mention that it's bigger on the inside..."

"Yeah I can see that. I don't need to state the obvious."

The Doctor looks at April, unsure of what to do. "Well it's my ship so I don't always abide to the rules."

"Why am I not surprised?" April muses.

There is a long pause of silence between them as the Doctor watches April standing there uncomfortably on the bottom step. The Tardis lets out a hum to fill their awkward silence.

"So, April, you have the whole of time and space in front of you. Where do you want to start?"

April glares at the Doctor in disbelief and steps up to the same level as him and the console. "Where do I _want_ to go?" she hisses. "You took me from my home and pulled me through a dustbin to wartime London during the Blitz. Even after I told you no. Is this some sort of sick joke? Who are you? Doctor _who_?" April takes a step closer as the Doctor laughs nervously. "There I asked your question for you. What doctor are you? A doctor of space and time travel? Do you think I ever had a choice in this?" She jabs her finger harshly in his chest with each syllable.

The Doctor takes a step back and stumbles over a leather chair, yet he manages to gain his balance as he laughs again nervously, one hand gripping onto the console.

"Look, April," He begins. "We've started on bad terms very quickly and I apologise for any inconvenience but let me just explain and set this straight."

April folds her arms across her chest. "Are you an alien?" She asks as the console hums again.

"Yes," The Doctor replies carefully, a bit cautious of her response, but she lets him continue. "I am. An alien with two hearts and can change my face after wearing out my body. Time Lords we called ourselves but I'm the last of my kind," The Doctor looks down at the console, knowing that he has to gain her trust and therefore tell her as much truth as he can currently bear. "I stole her not long before my planet and my people died and I've been travelling since. But I don't travel alone. My companion, Rose. Rose Tyler. I've left her home for a short while. And I built a cyborg called Terry. She looks human but she isn't. I uhh...I had to create her in this battle we got ourselves trapped in. They're both back in London in your time."

April is silent for a brief moment.

"Is this what you do? Pick girls up off the corner, tell them you're a Doctor and whisk them across the universe?" April's voice seems harsher than she intended but she just feels highly unimpressed. More than anything she feels lost. She doesn't want to be here with the Doctor and yet she doesn't want to go home.

The Doctor frowns. "But I am a doctor!" He protests.

"Yeah and I can see that!" April retorts as she rolls her eyes. "Did my parents put you up to this?" She snaps. "Before they died? Have you been stalking me for the past few years or something?"

"No." The Doctor responds very quickly as if trying to push the subject aside.

"You're acting like you know me and that I would want to travel with you. You haven't even apologised. How would you feel if someone took you from your home without your consent?"

The Doctor and April are both silent for a while as April quickly remembers that he just said that his home destroyed.

"Sorry." She mumbles.

"That's okay..." the Doctor cocks his head slightly. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah." She lies.

"Are you sure?"

"I'm fine," she insists. "I don't know if this is actually happening or if I just really hit my head on that dustbin and am actually dreaming."

"This is real," The Doctor says. "You're parents didn't send me. I know of you because of them but I just stumbled across you while on the look for something else. Thought I'd drop by and that you'd want to meet me."

"Why do I feel like that's a lie?"

"It's not," but even the Doctor knows he doesn't mean it. "You're parents used to talk about you all their time. Their intelligent daughter who always dreamed of seeing the stars."

"So you'd thought you'd con me here to take me to the stars in this ship?"

"I'm not a conman, April!" The Doctor snaps a little harshly but quickly stops himself. "I'm a friend. You can trust me. I want you to trust me. You don't have to stay with me. I'm not going to force you. But I'm sure you'd like a little escape from your life in Wandsworth?"

Then with a sigh, April turns on her heel and walks across the room. She sits on the step facing the door. She pulls her light grey hoodie sleeves over her balled fists and folds her arms over her stomach as she slowly starts rocking back and forth. She listens to the Doctor's footsteps as he goes to sit down next to her.

"Who is that man you're living with?" The Doctor asks tentatively

"Bruce Fey," April replies without hesitation. "He's just a close family friend."

"A close family friend who attacks you?"

"He doesn't attack me," April lies, ignoring the fact that she knows the Doctor doesn't believe her. "He just loses his temper often."

The Doctor watches April's profile before slowly reaching forward to touch the cut across her cheek bone. However before he can touch her, April moves away in an instant. It is almost like a sudden reaction to her: she feels the need to remove herself from any human contact. April knows the Doctor is studying her as they sit there and for a moment it feels like she can understand what it is he is thinking.

"Well, April Hollerford," The Doctor says with a smile on his face, although is voice is dull and forced. "We're going to have a lot of fun, aren't we?"

"I just don't know why you thought kidnapping me was okay."

"It wasn't kidnapping."

"Forcing me back in time when I so no. That's kidnapping."

"Okay I'm sorry."

April sighs heavily.

"Do you want to go back home? I'll take you back. A minute won't even have passed."

April hesitates as she picks at the dry skin around her fingers.

"No." April responds after a while.

"What can I do to help?"

"Shall we start again?"

It isn't long before April starts to explore the Tardis, checking out the wires and cables under the metal flooring of the console. She takes a walk down the corridors which are long and bent in all different directions. They lead to different rooms including a three storey high wardrobe, spare bedrooms, a swimming pool, an old bar, a library and many other rooms which April can't remember off the top of her head as there are so many. When she returns to the main console room, the Doctor offers to take her around to see London in 1943.

To the Doctor's surprise, April takes the offer.

It is only to April's surprise to see that it is broad daylight when she steps out the Tardis. It only seems like a few minutes ago that it was night time and bombs were falling on their heads. The bombs have stopped and as she looks at the park around her, she knows that it was only the following day since the bombs were dropped. The park is a mess and so are the neighbourhoods surrounding them. The Doctor stands by her side and squints in the bright daylight. He looks at April.

"Shall we go?" He asks as he offers her his arm. April, ignoring his arm, nods and they walk on together side by side with quite a gap between them.

They pass through the deadly quiet streets of London. There are a few people out as they push wheelbarrows, cleaning the rubble off the streets and throwing buckets of water over the remaining fires. April starts to feel a little self-conscious as most people stop to stare at both her and the Doctor, their eyes filling with hatred. April, realising that she is still wearing jeans and a hoodie, knows that she isn't in the right sort of clothing for wartime London.

"I feel like I should help them." April whispers to the Doctor, feeling exceedingly sympathetic to the people around her who have lost homes; wives lost husbands, fathers and brothers in the war or even in the bombings.

The Doctor looks down at April and nods to an old man who is bent over, trying to brush away the rubble from his front garden. April turns back to the Doctor and shakes her head, asking him if they can move on. She is too afraid to interfere with history.

"It feels like a set-up," April mumbles to the Doctor as she glances around a ruined London. "Like this is a film set and not history."

"Well you are a part of history now. It does take some getting used to."

As they pass through the city of London, the Doctor tries to lighten her mood by pointing out different historical facts all over the city. Some from centuries ago and some that are millions of years in the future. However, April occasionally finds herself correcting the Doctor once he gets a date wrong or a small fact incorrect. The Doctor looks a little embarrassed but pretends that he is only testing April's knowledge on the world.

Although the constant scowl is still planted on April's forehead, the Doctor does notice a very slight change in her mood as she seems very slightly happier than she was when they first met.

"Tell me more about Rose." April says when they turn down an alleyway.

"Why do you want to know?" The Doctor asks with a half-smile on his face.

"I just want to see if she's a real person and not just a con to make me believe that you're not just a lonely wonderer. Or a conman."

The Doctor looks a little hurt for a split second but then takes in a deep breath before speaking. "Some people get scared when they meet me for the first time. Even Rose was but she settled down very quickly. Unlike you. You seem to have taken this all in very easily. Much like your parents."

April shrugs as she balls her fists up in her hoodie pockets. "I've seen some crazy things," her scowl increases. "Did they ever travel with you?"

"No," the Doctor replies softly. "But they did know about me."

"There's so little I know of them," she glances at the Doctor. "They lived a double life, didn't they? The life with me and the life everyone expected of them. And then a different life I know nothing of. There seems to be more of my family than I know of. I mean for all I know, I could have a long lost brother or something."

April's words strikes the Doctor like a warning but he dares not say anything. April is very curious and she is correct. There is so much she does not know. But right now, the Doctor does not know where to begin in explaining anything. The Battle of the Cytracik for one. He quickly changes the subject.

"Wait till you get out there, April Hollerford," The Doctor says, pointing up at the grey sky as they stop walking. "I promise to take you up to see space for real and see the stars. And who knows? Maybe you _will_ be the first female to land on Mars."

The April stares at the Doctor. Mrs Wimble said the same thing to her. "You said that you left Rose at home. How come?"

The Doctor starts walking on again as he starts to explain the story. "It was to keep her safe from the battle. I couldn't risk losing her."

April looks thoughtful for a moment. "The battle that lost you your home?"

"No, that was the Time War. Many years ago. The Battle of the Cytracik it was called. It happened not so long ago in London, but I don't think you would remember it." The Doctor looks down at April but she shakes her head. However the world Cytracik seems somewhat familiar but she doesn't know how. It is better left unsaid. "Well it was a battle between humans and some aliens over some object called the Cytracik and I just couldn't run the risk of losing Rose, so I sent back home to her own time until the battle was over."

"But the battle _is_ over. Why haven't you got her back?" April asks.

The Doctor hesitates. "Well the fighting has stopped but I don't think that the battle is over _yet_ ," He looks at April gravely. "And I don't think it will be for a while. But that's nothing for you to be concerned of. If you want to know, I stumbled across you because I was looking for the Cytracik to destroy it."

"How do you destroy it?"

"No idea."

April nods. "What is the Cytracik, am I allowed to ask?"

"Still trying to figure it out. But it looks like this." the Doctor reaches for his inside coat pocket and pulls out a folded sheet of lined paper which has been ripped out of a notebook. He unfolds the paper and shows April a rough sketch of a black box. "A contemporary version of Pandora's box, I guess you could say. It is said that only the most powerful can open it. And that is why the battle started. Everything in the universe has become selfish. I'm not the only one looking for it. But I'm the only one wishing to destroy it."

April, with her head at a slight angle, examines the sketch of the Cytracik. However the Doctor quickly folds the paper and hides it in his coat pocket as if desperate to move away from this subject.

The Doctor then smirks a little as his voice suddenly changes to a lighter tone. "And as for Terry, I just needed extra help with a situation I got myself stuck in. It involved Henry VIII, a roast turkey and a yellow stocking."

"That's clever," April retorts sarcastically. "So this is what you do then, Doctor? You travel the world and get yourself stuck in situations and more or less change history all the time."

"I try to avoid the main history plots," The Doctor lies but he knows April doesn't believe him. "Besides Terry has helped me a lot. She may look human but she has a mind of a genius."

April finds a ginger cat walking along the top of a wall. Once it sees her, it jumps down off the wall and meows loudly. April bends down to fuss lovingly over the cat before picking it up in her arms and scratching it under his chin. She shows him to the Doctor; however he isn't too keen to pet the cat.

"What about you, April? Anything I don't know?" He asks, turning away from the cat.

April avoids the Doctor's eye contact. "There isn't a lot to say," She says as she walks on with the cat still purring happily in her arms. "I've been fascinated with astronomy for as long as I can remember."

"Anything about your family?"

April eyes the Doctor suspiciously as the cat jumps out of her arms and runs off in the opposite direction. "You said that you knew my parents. You know that they died five years ago on my thirteenth birthday."

"They died in a car accident."

"Bullshit! I don't believe a word of it, Doctor! How do you know anyway?"

The Doctor hesitates. "I was there when they died."

April's frown deepens. "Then tell me how they died."

"I told you they died in a car accident," The Doctor insists. "I was walking along the road when I saw it happen just further up the street. I was going to join them in a meeting. I stayed by their sides. They were dead by the time the ambulance arrived."

"So you may have something to do with the phone call dad received that morning."

"I don't. I just stayed with them when they died."

April waves her hand clumsily as if to tell him to stop talking as tears start to fill her eyes. "And you say meeting me wasn't a coincidence?"

The Doctor laughs. "Trust me, April Hollerford. I was just hoping around from time to time and sometimes I get pulled to certain places I'm familiar with, like your home. And because I met you, the time portal, what has been a little messed up recently, pulled you through the dustbin, not me. My ship told me what was happening and I ran to you and get you out of the way of the bombs."

"That's the truth?"

"I swear on my life."

April breathes out loudly. "I guess I may believe you, Doctor."

The Doctor smiles gleefully before they stop to look up at the sky that is quickly darkening by grey clouds. He feels a droplet of rain splash on his cheek.

"We'd better get back to the Tardis." He says, wiping the drop of rain off his face before continuing down the alleyway. April follows him and just as they reach the exit, April finds herself back in the park and the Tardis is only a few feet in front of her. April quickly turns around to try and understand how they came from the alleyway that is located somewhere else in London, to the park in a matter of seconds. It is as if they have been transported without realising.

April opens her mouth to speak but the Doctor cuts across her before she can.

"It's a technique a company called UNIT developed. They used to be able to open any door to any building to get to their main base. They gave me the gift to be able to get to my ship if I was thinking about it. It's been pretty useful." The Doctor takes out a key from his coat pocket and looks at April's scowling face.

Two things cross April's mind: the first is that she wonders why the Doctor chose to run when he found her instead of using this trick, and the second is the mention of UNIT.

"United Nations Intelligence Taskforce."

"That's the one." The Doctor says as he pulls out the Tardis key.

"What is that?"

"They were a scientific and military base that tracked down everything to do with aliens and spacecrafts. They were good friends of mine and your parents."

"Were?"

The Doctor pauses and looks somewhat downtrodden. "They were killed in the Battle of the Cytracik."

April purses her lips. "Sorry." She mutters and she truly is. "They must've been close to you."

The Doctor nods. "Well the majority of them I guess you could say," He then smiles. "Come on, I think it's about time we go somewhere else. Anywhere in history or the future would you like to see?"

After searching through the three-story high wardrobe, April finds a decent and suitable outfit to wear as the Doctor dances round the console blaring out some Mozart as the Tardis flies through time and space. When it lands, the Doctor and April stand by the front door and look at each other. The Doctor smiles in hope to receive one back from her but only receives her scowl. As he reaches for the door handle, April rests against the door to stop him from opening it.

"Are you sure that once these doors are open, we are going to step out to a completely different time and place to where we were in 1943?"

The Doctor's smile broadens. "And I look forward to watching your face to see it." The corner of April's lips twitch ever so slightly. The Doctor pulls open the door and April is the first to step out on the stone pavement. However before she she can step out fully, she quickly jolts backwards as a horse and carriage speeds past her.

Although impressed with the change in date, April isn't so impressed that the Doctor parked so close to the edge of a road. The Doctor notes this too as he looks at his big blue box and mutters something under his breath. He then turns and look at the long road stretched out in front of them. In the distance is the Globe Theatre which can be seen over the different roofs of the houses in front.

"April 1611," The Doctor takes a step forward with his arms outstretched proudly in front of him. "And April Hollerford, I have booked tickets to see the opening night to one of William Shakespeare's most famous plays." He turns back to look at April with raised eyebrows.

"Macbeth," April nods. "That's clever," She looks at the Doctor and only remembers saying the same thing before but sarcastically. "And I _mean_ it."

The Doctor nods and stands by her side again, looking out at the Globe. "And what a show it's going to be."

The Doctor and April walk through seventeenth century London towards the Globe Theatre. April watches the people they pass in awe, fascinated by the idea that she is walking through history. Everyone around her has their own lives and their own story during the seventeenth century and they have no idea what is to become of the world in the next century. She listens to the way they speak and try to figure out what it is they are speaking about.

"You must learn, April," The Doctor whispers, taking note of the streets becoming more crowded with people the closer they get to the Globe. "That you should never reveal your true identity because if you end up in trouble, it'll be a difficult story to tell to find your way out. Let's say I'm now John Smith and you can be…" He pauses in thought. "Mrs Robinson."

April glares at the Doctor, clearly unimpressed with his train of though. "Mrs Robinson?"

"What? It's not such a bad name."

"I hate you." She mutters, shaking her head.

The Doctor smirks as they reach the entrance. A guard who is standing by the wooden doors stop them in their tracks. The Doctor reaches for the inside of his coat pocket and takes out what looks like a small black wallet, yet as he opens it and shows it to the guard, one half of the wallet reveals a plain scrap of paper to it. The guard nods and welcomes them to the Globe, stepping to the side to let them pass. The Doctor nods and walks on, followed by April.

"Psychic paper," The Doctor says, waving it in his hand, just as if he's reading April's questioning mind. "It means I can get anywhere around the universe as anyone I wish to be and people would believe me at the sight at my…well I guess you could call it identification." They stop walking momentarily as they peer down at the psychic paper. April notices that the paper suddenly has John Smith's name across the top, followed by a date of birth and occupation.

April snorts. "John Smith is King James I servant?"

The Doctor quickly tucks the paper into his coat pocket. "Well he has to be someone."

They both ascend the steep wooden stairs which eventually leads them to a balcony view. The Doctor allows April to pass through the doorway first as they step out on the balcony and edge pass other audience members to take their seat in the middle.

"And I had to get the best seat in the house." The Doctor muses, impressed with himself. April sits down on the wooden bench, admiring the view of the stage down below.

It isn't long before the show starts and April watches the opening performance of Macbeth in awe, watching the male actors dart around the stage. She is entertained not only by the performance but also of the audience's reaction as they gasp in shock horror when the three witches chant their songs and Lady Macbeth plots her husband to murder King Duncan. The Doctor leans over and points out Richard Burbage who is playing Macbeth. April was never one to go to the theatre to see a show, but there and then, she finds herself enjoying every moment of it.

By the end of the performance, the audience stands up and a loud roar erupts. April and the Doctor both stand up with everyone else. April starts applauding but the Doctor stops her as the audience start shouting in horror from the performance. Screams are thrown across the Globe as the actors scuttle away to hide behind the stage. April watches the people around her cursing the play and that is when they both decide to leave and allow history to continue its course.

Seventy-five years before, the Doctor and April are standing in the middle of a crowd of people standing outside the Tower of London, awaiting the news of Anne Boleyn's execution.

Five hundred and fifty-five years into the future and the Doctor and April are standing in another crowd of people watching a spacecraft being launched into the sky as the German's are set to land on the moon and plant their flag next to the American's flag. April is pleased that seventy-six years into her future and no one attempts to fly to Mars.

One hundred and seventy-seven years before and the Doctor and April are sitting at a large round table with Captain Smith, Bruce Ismay, Thomas Andrews and other people whom the Doctor isn't able to remember their names, on the first night out on the RMS Titanic since it set sail from Southampton docks. The guests are delighted with the stories John Smith tells about his travels with his adequate but moody companion, Mrs Robinson.

Three hundred and eighty years before, the Doctor and April find themselves in a pickle in Hampton Court...

April stands with her back up against the oak walls, which reminds her of the walls to her therapist's office. The Doctor, however, is hiding in the large wardrobe to her right.

"Is he gone yet?" The Doctor asks, whispering through the gap between the doors.

April peers from behind the bend in the wall only to see an empty corridor. "The coast is clear for now."

The Doctor comes out of the wardrobe and brushes away the mothballs from his jacket.

"That was too much of a close shave." The Doctor mutters but then notices April's eyes widen in fear as she looks over his shoulder.

"And it looks like you'll be losing your head soon."

The Doctor turns to see some of the King's men hurtling towards them at full speed. "Run!" He shouts as they do so, running from room to room, slamming the doors behind them. They end up in a bedroom and both dive under the large double bed.

"Now you've done it!" April hisses at the Doctor as they squeeze under the bed, hoping not to be seen. "You should've known that Henry VIII wants to kill you after your incident with the roast turkey over supper!"

"April you asked me to take to you this era so you could meet him!" The Doctor snaps.

"You could've gone back in time to before you pissed him off! Now he wants our heads!" She covers her mouth with her hands as the door bursts open and in come the guards, followed by Henry VIII himself shouting for John Smith. They search the room, checking the drawers and cupboards. The Doctor delicately takes out his sonic screwdriver, which he has introduced to April after they managed to get stuck in the engine room while Titanic was sinking. As he turns it on, something in one of the other rooms down the corridor smashes, allowing the King's and the guard's attention to turn to the sound and run out the room.

The Doctor and April crawl out from under the bed and open the door to the balcony. As they step through they find themselves at the end of the garden where the Tardis is parked.

During their travels around the world, the Doctor starts to teach April more about the Tardis and their history together. After a long deliberating thought, he starts to teach her how to fly the ship and what every button and leaver on the console does. To his surprise, not only does April pick it all up very quickly and it isn't long before she knows how to fly the Tardis, but the Tardis allows April to fly her.

"This has never happened before," the Doctor announces in wonderment. "I have never seen my ship allow someone else but me fly her. And I didn't think you would understand her controls as easily as you do."

"It's not exactly difficult." April replies.

April takes out her astronomy books and they study together. The Doctor teaches her more about the wonders of the universe, the parts she does not know of, and yet he finds himself learning other things about astronomy and the stars from April which he had not known before. However he keeps this to himself. He starts to notice more of the knowledge that April contains in her brain, and knows that it came from her parents, especially her father.

The Doctor watches April's confidence slowly develop as she starts to relax more around him as their friendship grows a little stronger. She trusts him more and doesn't judge him so much as she did before. Nor does she accuse him for lying to her, even if she still doesn't believe everything he says. Yet the scowl still remains on her face and she still doesn't allow any physical contact between them. This makes the Doctor curious as to why she is so afraid of people touching her.

Every night, the Doctor allows April to sleep for a few hours before they will go on to travel the next day. The Doctor stays up all night long, occasionally talking to the console, pacing around, or fixing some of the wires. However April's nightmare still appears every time she falls asleep and the fiery pain she has when she wakes up is gradually becoming more painful as the days wear on. She has noticed that since she's been with the Doctor, there is a sudden increase in the pain.

One day, April finds herself sitting on the chair, one leg hanging down and the other tucked under. The Doctor is below the console fixing some wires that seem to be a little faulty. As April stares blankly at the door, she suddenly gets flashbacks of Bruce beating her back at her house and whenever she closes her eyes, she gets the image of the Black Lighthouse, which will jolt her back to her senses.

The scars on April's wrists starts burning again. She looks down at her sleeve-covered arms, gasping at the sudden burning sensation. She then realises that since she's been with the Doctor, all her thoughts of wanting to kill herself has vanished. All of a sudden she feels more willing to stay alive and travel the world with the Doctor. She has this sudden desire to learn more about the universe.

She admits to herself that in some strange way, the Doctor has mentally saved her life. Only in the sense that he has opened her up to life away from depression and suicide. Although their meeting was not planned, running away with him that night during the London blitz has stopped her from ever killing herself, or ever wanting to physically hurt herself. And it is only now that this has occurred to her.

But then she wonders if the Doctor has realised the impact he has made on her life. But perhaps this sudden change is because of the way she has changed the outlook of her own life. The Doctor has showed her a new way of living her life and April has only just accepted it. Maybe he has helped herself.

April suddenly feels a rush of courage to admit to the Doctor and tell him everything about her depressive state she was in before and everything Bruce did to her. But then she suddenly remembers something her therapist told her during one of their first sessions.

Mental health feels like one is fighting a war. However the enemy's strategy is to make one believe that there is not a war occurring.

April sinks back into her head as she realises how ill she is. Maybe opening up to the Doctor might be another step forward to helping herself out.

"Doctor." April calls, but then the phone sitting on the console starts to ring, stopping her from saying anything further.

The Doctor is there by the phone in a heartbeat and a broad smile breaks out on his face when he answers it.

"Hello, Rose Tyler!"


	7. VI - Rose and Terry

**VI  
Rose and Terry**

 _21_ _st_ _Century  
_ _Planet Earth  
_ _England  
_ _London_

Rose Tyler walks across the lounge of her flat with the phone tucked between her ear and her shoulder as she holds out a large wooden photo frame in front of her. Her mother, Jackie Tyler, sits in one of the armchairs in her pink dressing gown, filing her nails as she watches an episode of EastEnders on the small television. Terry, a girl that looks around the age of her late teens, is standing beside the door to the kitchen, watching Rose and listening to her conversation with the Doctor.

"You've been busy." Rose says as she balances the frame on her leg, taking a closer look at the painting in it.

"Yes I know I have, Rose," The Doctor replies. "But we've got a new member for our…our Tardis crew I guess you could say. April Hollerford has jumped in on the band wagon!"

"Yeah I can see that. You've made an appearance in Rembrandt van Rijn's most famous painting _The Night Watch_ ," Rose laughs. "Bet you didn't realise that both yourself _and_ April have been painted to the left of Captain Frans Banning Cocq!" She laughs before sighing as she places the painting down on the floor and rests it against the wall. Rose has missed the Doctor dearly while he has been away and spends every day hoping that she will hear that sound the Tardis makes when landing. The sound would be like music to her ears but for the past five months, she has had a quiet life living with her mother again. Terry on the other hand keeps herself to herself as she spends most of the passing days in the spare bedroom, tapping away at her electronic device the Doctor gave her and not accepting any of the food that Jackie offered.

"When are you coming back, Doctor?" Rose asks, looking out at the grey sky through the window.

"Well I've done the job," The Doctor lowers his voice completely for that brief moment but then raises it again. "We'll be on our way."

Rose smiles weakly. "Well I look forward to meeting, April. Oh and, Doctor," Rose quickly says before he could end the call. "There's something you should know."

"And what may that be?" The Doctor sounds intrigued.

"I suppose you've been too busy to get any readings from this but there is a spaceship in the sky that's slowly coming towards Earth."

"Well this is exciting! Tell me more about it."

Rose can hear the Doctor pressing all different buttons on the console, and the sound of the hum of the Tardis makes Rose miss the Doctor and their travels even more. She is desperate to get out again and continue their adventures.

"Well the only problem is that in 1984, the ship was just in the Earth's atmosphere above Wales, yet over the years the ship has been edging further and further away _but_ at the same time the readings tell us that the ship is trying to get closer to Earth," Rose shifts on the spot. "I can only guess that whatever is on this spaceship is trying to jump time tracks."

"Where did you get all this information from?" The Doctor questions.

Rose glances over her shoulder at her open laptop sitting on the arm of the sofa. "I hacked onto UNIT's account. Although the company are no longer around, Colonel Brimikawood's database is still working and almost running on its own course."

There is a short, sharp, high pitched bleep from the Tardis as the Doctor continues to press buttons. Rose hears his muffled voice telling April something and she can only guess that they are trying to track down the ship. There is another muffled sound as the Doctor comes back to the phone.

"The Tardis is currently scanning the ship but the Colonel's database is correct: the ship is jumping time tracks. Yet the design of the ship is completely unfamiliar to me so I can't tell what could be on board," There are more beeps here and there. "Rose, are you ready to meet a new alien?" The Doctor sounds a little distressed but there is a hint of excitement in his voice.

"You would never know!" Rose beams with a broad smile stretching across her face.

"Well pack your bags, Rose Tyler. We're coming to get you and Terry and we'll go straight to Wales 1984!" With that he ends the call.

Rose listens to the buzz of the telephone line for a moment before looking down at her mother's worrisome expression.

* * *

The Doctor turns to look at April who is leaning against the console. No words are exchanged as he pulls down a leaver. There is a loud bang, almost like a thump, and the Tardis starts to shake as it travels.

However both of them quickly realise that something is wrong as the Tardis' groaning sound doesn't sound quite right. The Doctor hops around the console, pulling leavers and gripping hold of the edge to balance as the Tardis shakes vigorously. April can feel the force of the Tardis as it flies through the time vortex. Knowing how to fly the ship, she finds herself pressing all the buttons that the Doctor misses.

"What are you doing?" The Doctor shouts as he stumbles over as the Tardis shakes again but manages to regain his balance by gripping onto the edge of the console.

"It's your ship and you don't even know how to fly it properly!" April shouts back.

"Yes I do! I've been flying her for over three quarters of my life! You're just getting in the way!"

"Oh I am now, am I?" With that, April falls forward as she reaches to pull down another leaver. The console sparks a few times and the Doctor and April stands side by side, holding a slight grudge against each other as they fly uneasily back to London.

The Tardis lands with a loud thud but both the Doctor and April manages to steady their balance and not fall over. The Doctor looks up at the console and a smile forms on his face.

"The Powell Estate!" He beams before running to the door to get outside. April trudges behind him. They have landed in a courtyard between different blocks of London flats. This is an area April does not recognise and she can guess that they are nowhere near Wandsworth. Perhaps more central or North London. As she steps out of the Tardis, she notices that the sky is still clouded over The weather hasn't changed much since she left.

Sitting over on a low brick wall is a blonde female, a little older than April, looking rather impatient. A younger girl with fiery red curly hair stands beside her. Terry dresses in a green vest over a blue t-shirt and a denim skirt, whereas Rose is supporting a bright red jumper and faded grey jeans. The Doctor hesitates.

"How late am I?" He asks with a hint of guilt in his voice.

"Five weeks," Rose replies as she folds her arms. "Five weeks, two days and three hours to be exact." Rose slides off the wall and approaches the Doctor as she tries to suppress a smile.

"Sorry about that," He gestures to April with his thumb. "It's just that we had a few _technical_ difficulties with the Tardis and…" he stops abruptly when Rose drops her large rucksack in his arms.

"If you'd perhaps stop downgrading me, then you'd realise that I have picked up more than you've taught me." April hisses.

The Doctor rolls his eyes, not in the mood for her temper. "Rose, Terry, this is April Hollerford. And April, this is Rose and Terry."

Rose and April look at each other for what seems like a long time and the first thing that Rose notices was the scowl on April's face. She holds her gaze for a while before April shyly looks down at the ground, not uttering a word. Rose then quickly turns to the Doctor and jumps straight into his arms and embraces him tightly, smiles stretches across both their faces. They start a quick conversation which flies over April's head.

April looks at Terry who is watching her with an expressionless face. As human as Terry looks, her pupils are dilated to complete black circles. There is no colour to her eyes other than black. Being under Terry's scrutiny and knowing that she has a mind of a genius and is in fact a cyborg – not human – April very quickly feels insecure and turns her attention to her white trainers that are more of a grey colour with specks of dried mud on the surface.

As a child, April was always quite reserved when it came to meeting new people. But now it seems like it's worse. She just about trusts the Doctor, but neither Rose nor Terry seem at all that welcoming. Or maybe she's the one that doesn't seem welcoming enough to them?

The four of them walk back into the Tardis and Rose walks around the console room as if she has just returned home. She and the Doctor are still engaged in a conversation, talking all about the time they have missed together.

April perches on the edge of the leather seat and swings her legs to and fro, feeling somewhat out of place. Yet as soon as April starts to feel this way, the Doctor turns his attention to her, almost as if he can read her mind and understand that she feels a little awkward.

"So where are we going?" The Doctor asks, clasping his hands and rubs them together.

"Wales 1984." April and Rose choruses together, Rose sounding a little more enthusiastic than April does.

"That's it!" The Doctor jumps to the console, passing Terry who is looking down at her handheld device. "Let's go catch us a monster!" However, just before he has the chance to pull down a leaver, there is a bleep from the television screen on the console.

April's head shoots up and she jumps off the seat. She joins the Doctor, Rose and Terry who all looks down at the screen. The Doctor's brow furrows as he looks at the Gallifreyan writing on the screen. The Doctor has only just started to teach April to read his language so not everything on the screen makes sense.

"What is it?" Rose asks, looking from the screen and to the Doctor.

"Someone is calling for me," he says as he takes out his black rimmed glasses from his pocket and puts them on. "Some sort of distress signal."

"It looks a little forced to me," Terry says blandly. "They're inviting you like some sort of trap."

"How is that evident?" Rose asks.

"Well the distress signal is coming from Wales 1984..." Terry starts but is cut across by April.

"And there is an alien spaceship jumping time tracks to get to Wales." April mutters this more to herself but everyone is silent as they listen to her.

"What I was about to say." Terry says, eyeing April.

"What is the distress signal about?" Rose asks again.

"I don't know, but I guess we'll find out. Let's use our cover names because I don't think I trust this," the Doctor marches around the Tardis console and then suddenly he draws out a travel map. Squishing in between Rose and Terry, the Doctor opens out the map and lays it out flat across the console. Then looking from the screen to the map, he runs his finger around the map, trying to trace where the distress signal is coming from. However the coordinates on the screen only shows in an open space in the middle of nowhere.

The Doctor shakes his head. "Read it wrong." Then once again he follows the coordinates but finds himself looks at the exact same place on the map.

There is an awkward silence.

"We're going to be travelling to the middle of Wales where there is nothing but sheep. Are you sure it isn't alien sheep and cows calling for you?" Rose says slowly as she looks at the Doctor. There is a moment and then they both burst out laughing. However, they only laugh for a few seconds before the Tardis jolts so suddenly that they are nearly all knocked off their feet.

Sparks fly off the console as the Tardis shudders. Both the Doctor and April make their way back to the console and start to fly it away from London. The journey is more difficult than it was before as the Tardis shakes more vigorously and more sparks fly off the console. Rose grips onto the rail for support.

"We're getting tangled in their time tracks!" Terry announces as she reads the readings from her handheld device. The light hearted atmosphere that had filled the Tardis earlier quickly vanishes as they are pulled back and forth through time with the other space ship.

"What else is happening?" The Doctor shouts across to Terry.

"We're jumping time tracks with the other ship. Doctor, to get out we just have to aim for Wales and find the ship on Earth! The Tardis is unable to cope with this force!"

Rose looks at the Doctor worriedly as he shouts for April to help him fly the Tardis. "April, I need you!"

"How can I help when you said I get in the way?" April shouts back.

"April, there's no time for this! Help me!" The Doctor snaps but looks at her guiltily, remembering what his anger had caused him to say before, therefore allowing April to forever remind him about it. April is one not to forget things easily.

April glances over at Rose's scared face before the Tardis stops abruptly throwing the four of them forward over the console. They are all silent for a moment.

"What's happened, Doctor?" Rose asks as she tries to catch her breath.

The Doctor looks up at the ceiling of the Tardis. "We've stopped," He says softly. "We've just completely stopped moving." He then looks down at the console.

"Well we must be somewhere."

"We're sitting in space for sure." Terry answers.

The four move closer to the screen on the console as it beeps. The image on the screen fuzzes as if they are getting signal through from elsewhere. The image eventually clears and soon appears five green aliens with jet black eyes. April narrows her eyes, staring at the aliens on the screen. A broad smile flashes across the Doctor's face.

"The Slitheen," He beams. "I thought about when I'd be bumping into you again! What are you fella's up to then?"

April continues to glare at the green aliens, now known as the Slitheen, as the one in the middle of the screen starts to speak in a crackly voice, in the English language.

"You are interfering with our journey! Now we're all being pulled down to Earth, you fools!"

"And what's so fascinating about Wales 1984?" The Doctor asks, taking out a pair of black, thick rimmed glasses out of his jacket pocket and putting them on.

"That's no concern of yours, Doctor." The Slitheen hisses.

The Doctor considers the reply for a moment. "Clearly I'd like to know. It's not normal for a ship of so many Slitheen flying from Raxacoricofallapatorius straight to Wales at a certain date without clear explanation as to why. You've been plotting this I see."

"And our journey would've been successful if you, Doctor, hadn't trapped us in this web of time…"

The signal on the screen starts to break and they lose the image.

"No, no, no, no, no!" The Doctor shouts as he hits the side of the screen in an attempt to get the signal back. When it doesn't return, he draws out his sonic screwdriver and shines it on the screen. The Slitheen still don't return.

Suddenly there is another spark from the console and the force of the time tracks suddenly pulls the Tardis down to Earth at high speed. Once again, the four find themselves gripping hold of the console as they feel the force of the Tardis pelting down towards Earth. Their screams echo across the console room and fear has overcome them. Yet the Tardis lands with a loud thud and they all fall backwards onto the cold metal flooring.

There is another pause of silence as they try to register everything that has just happened in the past couple of minutes.

The Doctor is the first to get back on his feet and he looks down at his wrist watch. "We've landed about a week after the Slitheen." He says before helping Rose back on her feet and running to the front doors. He steps outside and then Rose follows.

April pushes herself up in sitting position, only noticing Terry standing beside her with her hand stretched out to help her up. April looks at Terry's helping hand for a moment before ignoring it and standing up herself. Terry nods in understanding as she drops her hand.

"You don't like human contact, do you?" Terry asks quietly as April brushes the invisible dust off her jeans. "You can't seem to trust anyone either." Terry examines April, noticing the look of hurt on April's face before an image of Bruce attacking her suddenly appears in her mind. The sound of April's screams and cries ring in her ears as April's memory of Bruce beating her run through Terry's mind. She takes a step back in surprise. "I'm so sorry," Terry whispers as her almost emotional human expression suddenly turns back to being expressionless. "But you didn't have to put up with that."

"Don't." April warns.

"Why didn't you help yourself?"

"Just do me a favour," April cuts across Terry. "And don't tell the Doctor about it."

Terry looks at her quizzically. "Why? It's not going to help you."

"Because I can sort it out myself!" April snaps, instantly regretting the force of her words. Noticing that Terry is looking down at her arms, she self-consciously pulls her hoodie sleeves over her hands before walking across the console room towards the doors.

April opens the doors carefully and steps out on wet muddy grass to join Rose and the Doctor. She squints in the bright sunlight and the harsh wind that blows at her. As her eyes start to adjust to the brightness, she notices that they have landed in the middle of a Welsh field surrounded by hundreds of sheep bleating in the distance and large hills circling them. April looks up at the sky, realising that it is only the brightness of the light grey clouds not the sun that is shining down on them.

"Two alien ships landing here and everything just looks normal." Rose says as she scans the fields ahead of them.

"It would seem so." The Doctor says quietly.

The Doctor then takes a step forward and opens his mouth to say something else but the sound of a gun clicking in his ear stops him instantly.

Instead he slowly raises both his hands up in surrender. Rose, April and Terry do the same as four threatening looking farmers points a gun at each of them.


	8. VII - About Wales

**VII  
About Wales**

 _20th Centuary  
_ _Planet Earth  
_ _Wales  
_ _1984  
_ _Middle of nowhere_

"Who are you and what are you doing on our land?" The farmer standing next to the Doctor orders in a thick Welsh accent. "This is private property! You have no right to be here! I demand you to tell me who you are!" He presses his gun to the Doctor's temple.

April narrows her eyes at the farmer standing directly in front of her, unafraid of the shotgun that is pointing in her face. For a short moment, no one knows what to do to get out of this situation. But then the Doctor suddenly lets out a roar of laughter and starts speaking in a Scottish accent.

"We mean no harm wee lads; we're merely just travellers passing by. Uhm we're a wee bit lost I'm afraid."

"You must read English if you speak it," One of the farmers replies harshly. "Didn't you read the sign on the gate?"

"Ahh no."

"It's a fake!" The farmer next to Rose shouts. "They're only pretending. They look perky and I don't like it!"

The Doctor lets out a loud deflated sigh. He gestures to his coat pocket as he looks at the farmer next to him. The farmer scowls before dropping his gun and reaching inside the Doctor's coat pocket. He pulls of the psychic paper.

"I guess you've found us out." the Doctor mutters without the Scottish accent, loud enough for them to hear. The farmer looks down at the psychic paper. "I'm Doctor Smith from United Nations Intelligence Taskforce and these are my fellow co-workers," The Doctor's voice becomes more serious and formal. "This is Lieutenant Jackie Orman," He points to Rose who nods. "Second Lieutenant Tiffany Jenner," He points to Terry. "And this is our newest recruit, Mrs Robinson."

April shoots daggers at the Doctor.

The four farmers suddenly take a step back in line, standing side-by-side and salutes them. The Doctor, Rose, April and Terry cautiously salutes back.

"That's more like it!" Rose says as she straightens her posture. The look of pleasure on her face is clear to say that she is enjoying being saluted to.

The Doctor, who hasn't dropped his stare from the farmer in front of him, nods and drops his hand. "At ease boys," He orders and the farmers drop their salutes, yet they keep their line formation and upright posture. "We're on a secret mission," The Doctor continues as he takes a step forward. "It's a mission to discover a ship that may have crash landed around here about a week ago. A space ship. Do you know what I speak of?" He directly looks at the farmer who was pointing his gun at him only moments ago.

The farmer's bottom lips trembles ever so slightly. "Follow us." He croaks after a long silence. He turns and starts to walk north.

The Doctor and Rose exchange glances before they all follow the farmers across the field. April takes one last look at the Tardis behind her before walking next to the Doctor.

"I hate you," She mutters to him. "For the false name."

The Doctor laughs lightly in response.

They walk through the Welsh fields for a long time and the longer they walk, the darker the sky becomes. The farmers are silent along the journey and neither the Doctor, Rose, Terry nor April speak a word. They all feel somewhat scared to say anything in case of the farmers hearing them and blowing their cover.

They cross over many different fields and climb up and over hills, some steeper than others. It is getting on for twilight by the time they reach the bottom of another steep hill. There is already a stone pathway to follow, yet halfway up the hill they have to use their hands to climb because it is so steep. The hill becomes steeper the higher they get and April really starts to struggle. She grips hold of a branch to haul herself up but it snaps and she slips down. Luckily she quickly manages to grab onto a rock for support. Once April gains her balance, she looks up at the Doctor, Rose and the farmers as they continue to climb as if they didn't hear April's stumble. Terry only just stares at April as she climbs around her and continues up the hill, catching up with the others, not once offering April any help. April sighs before regaining her body strength and hauls herself up the hill.

When they reach the top, the sky is a deeper twilight colour. Clearly it is summer time so they know that the stars will not be showing in the sky for another couple of hours or so. Surrounding them are many different trees making up a large wood.

"Continue travelling north through the woods and you'll find it," One of the farmers says, breathless from both the journey and fear. "It's stuck in a bog but you'll see it."

"Aren't you going to take us there?" Rose asks but they shake their heads.

"No we can't. It's too dangerous for us." Another farmer says gravely.

"Well thank you, good sirs." The Doctor says as the farmers turn and travels back the way they came. The sound of the wildlife in the woods surround them and the cool breeze starts blowing from the south.

"We'd better keep moving and stay warm," The Doctor's voice is still formal and serious as he slowly starts to walk on through the woods. "The farmers fear this ship."

"Doctor," April starts as they walk on. "The Slitheen's ship has been here a week before we arrived. Do you think that they're still going to be there?"

"I hope so," The Doctor replies. "But I have a bad feeling that they've moved elsewhere."

There is an electric bleep making everyone jump in fright, but they are only to find Terry looking down at a small computer handheld device in her hands. The Doctor sighs.

"What are you reading?" He asks.

"There's a village about a mile east from where the Slitheen spaceship has landed." Terry's voice is somewhat flat as she reads the screen on her handheld device.

"What?"

"A village."

The Doctor frowns. "But on the map there wasn't any towns or villages close to this area. We are in the middle of nowhere. The nearest town would be at least a couple hours drive from here."

"Well this village is an easy walk away," Terry looks up at the Doctor. "I don't know about you but I think this is a set up. Those farmers are scared. But there is a reason why that village isn't on the map. I think that's why the Slitheen chose to come here to this exact spot."

"There must be something in the village." The Doctor mutters darkly under his breath.

"But there's nothing around here. All we got is a distress signal." Rose says, folding her arms, feeling the chill in the air as the wind blows.

"Maybe it's the people in this village," April suggests. "Maybe they sent out a distress signal to the Slitheen like they did to you."

The Doctor rubs his eyes. "Let's just find the spaceship first." With that he starts walking on and the others follow.

They walk through the trees in silence for a short while, the Doctor holding out his sonic screwdriver, making sure that they are still travelling north.

Suddenly there is a loud roar that echoes in the trees. They stop dead in their tracks. The wildlife in the trees falls silent yet the wind continues to blow. The roar, almost like a screech, comes again and then in the dark shadows of the woodland trees comes a Slitheen in view.

"RUN!" The Doctor shouts, pushing Rose forward and they all start sprinting through the woods, weaving in and out of the trees and trying to continue heading north. Every so often they stumble over a few roots but always manage to regain their balance, desperate to get away. The sound of the Slitheen running after them is heard not far behind so they continue to run faster.

When they finally reach the edge of the wood, the Doctor stops instantly, looking down at the steep drop below. In the distance is a field circled by more hills. To the right is a muddy pathway between the hills. In the middle of the field is a large bog where the Slitheen spaceship sits. The Doctor examines the scenery in a matter of seconds before Rose bashes into the back of him, followed by Terry. The Doctor regains his balance so that they all don't go tumbling head first down the steep dip. April manages to slow down and look over the edge when she catches up with them.

"What do we do now?" Rose asks as the Slitheen behind them screeches again.

The Doctor looks back at the woods, trying to find a way out when the Slitheen comes into view. The Slitheen locks its jet black eyes on its prey. It straightens its posture and slowly approaches them, raising one of its giant claws to attack.

"Go down!" April shouts as she pushes the others forward. Stumbling over her own feet from the force of her own push, the four fall forward and tumble down the hill, getting tangled up in leaves and branches as well as one another. They finally land in a heap at the bottom of the hill, groaning and grumbling from being bruised and battered from the fall.

The Doctor quickly shushes them and they remain in the ditch for a few moments more, listening to the Slitheen above. It walks around, heavy footed at the top of the dip, clearly not able to see them in the dark. Then it roars before running south. No one moves until they can no longer hear it and are sure the alien is no longer around.

The Doctor is the first to roll out of their pile and jump back on his feet.

"Well that's one way to get away from a monster," He says cheerfully as he brushes the dirt off his trousers. "Thank you, April Hollerford!" He smiles at her before turning to the ship in the bog. He takes out his sonic screwdriver and scans the ship. It bleeps a couple of times. The Doctor frowns in confusion.

"Anything the matter?" Rose asks as she stands beside him, glancing down at the screwdriver.

"No." The Doctor lies, turning to Terry who, despite an emotionless face, has a slight concerned twinkle in her black eyes as she looks down at her handheld device. She catches his eye and nods. A silent agreement is made between the Doctor and Terry that Rose and April cannot see. "Is anyone hungry?" The Doctor asks, looking at April and Rose. "Good," He says before they can respond. "There's a village a couple of miles east if you follow that pathway," He points to the muddy pathway between the hills. "Go to that village and Terry and I will meet you in the pub later."

"What happened to the Doctor that hates splitting up?" Rose queries with a raised eyebrow.

The Doctor looks at Rose for a moment. "There's bigger fish to fry, you know that," he says darkly. "Let's just see what is going on here and then we can leave. Go with April to the village. Investigate."

Rose doesn't at all look that pleased about splitting up with the Doctor but does as she is told. "Pub later then?" She insists and the Doctor nods. Rose turns to smile at April who only replies with a scowl, before they head down the darkening muddy pathway between the two hills.

They head through the darkness towards the village that is not on the map.


	9. VIII - A chat with the Innkeeper

**VIII  
A chat with the innkeeper**

 _20_ _th_ _Century  
_ _Planet Earth  
_ _Wales  
_ _The bog  
_ _1984_

It is still twilight and the Doctor and Terry are standing on some of the big rocks beside the crashed Slitheen spaceship. The Doctor holds his sonic screwdriver in one hand scanning the ship, and tapping the surface of the ship with the other, listening to the hollow sound it makes when tapped.

Terry walks around the outside of the ship, trying to avoid falling into the bog. She holds her handheld device in her hands, scanning the material the ship is made out of and its landing spot. She comes back to the Doctor with no important news apart from that the ship crash landed a week before they did. A fact they already know. This frustrates the Doctor.

"All I can see is that they flew straight out from Raxacoricofallapatorius with this area as their destination. Why they have, I can't tell; we're just going to have to ask them upon meeting. And how they managed to get their ship tangled in time tracks is unclear too." Terry says dryly.

"Well the Slitheen have come here for a purpose and we need to find out why they have," Out of anger, the Doctor slams his fist into the side of the ship. "And nothing is on board! They must've headed east to the village," The Doctor runs his fingers through his hair in frustration. "I'm baffled, Terry, I really am. Why wasn't that village on the map? What have they got to hide there?"

The Doctor ponders at his own question, knowing that the village will certainly have all the answers. Something around here isn't quite right.

Terry feels a drop of rain fall on her cheek and she brushes it away, registering that a storm is brewing. The Doctor, notices that the rain is about to pour down and looks at the dark path between the two hills that April and Rose disappeared down.

"What about Jack Gruntler?" Terry suggests. "We haven't seen him since the Battle of the Cytracik and he knows all."

"Jack Gruntler is getting old and worn. He needs to rest a little longer," The Doctor puts his hands in his pockets and he continues to look at the pathway. "He's still recovering," The Doctor then puts his hand on Terry's shoulder and looks at her as there is a slight rumble of thunder. "I know times have been harder since this battle started but we need to get through this. I promised Declan we would," He then smirks. "But right now there's another mystery on our hands."

They start to take the long walk down the muddy pathway between the two hills as the rain starts to beat down upon them harshly and the storm rages on. The pathway is dark and it gets to the point where the Doctor has to use his sonic screwdriver to light them the way. Yet they reach the village in no time and pass through the stone cobbled streets.

The village looks normal but yet slightly out of the 1980s time zone. The cottages around the village are old. Somewhat Victorian. There doesn't seem to anyone out on the streets, but that doesn't come as a surprise to the Doctor as there is a storm going on.

Terry and the Doctor silently walk around the cobbled streets, seeing flickers of lights through the windows. There seems to be very few shops around; just a cafe, a grocery, a book store and a church. They find a village square in the middle where there is a clock tower and a small fountain. The Doctor stops in his tracks as he looks down at his sonic screwdriver. However there doesn't seem to be readings of anything strange.

But then Terry lightly taps the Doctor's arm and points at something. The Doctor looks up and then notices a silhouette of a human figure standing in a window to a building looking down at them. The Doctor then looks at all the buildings around them and sees that there are many people peering out their windows, looking at him.

"Lets keep walking." The Doctor mumbles, nudging Terry's elbow. They slowly walk away from the square, noticing more people standing in their windows watching them.

They eventually stop at a somewhat welcoming looking Bed and Breakfast. The Doctor clears his throat and glances at Terry before pounding on the wooden door. Terry's eyes are fixed on the door, awaiting the reply. She takes in a deep breath.

"I can smell an alien not far from here." Terry mutters.

The Doctor raises an eyebrow. "Where's the scent coming from?"

"It's all around us," She answers quietly. "It's sort of intermingled with a roast dinner."

"Ahh I could do with a roast right now in fact!"

Soon enough, the small rectangular window in the door opens as the eyes of the innkeeper appears, glaring down at them.

"What do you want?" He orders, his thick Welsh accent ringing.

The Doctor replies in a quivering Scottish accent. "Please sir, we mean no harm. We're just travellers passing through and we have no money to stay anywhere for the night. Nor do we have any clean clothes."

The innkeeper grunts as he shifts on the spot, looking down at the Scottish man on his doorstep, pouting his bottom lip in sympathy.

"Please," The Doctor croaks. "My niece, Tiffany," He points to Terry whose face is unhealthily white as a sheet. "She's come down with a terrible cold. Please, have a heart sir. She just needs a little TLC."

Terry gives an unconvincing cough. The Doctor can't help but silently thank Terry for always joining him in his act instead of asking questions or blowing their cover.

The innkeeper remains silent before slamming the window in the door. The Doctor sighs in frustration but then after hearing locks and bolts moving, the wooden door swings open and the very large and round looking innkeeper, leaning on a wooden walking stick gestures them to come in.

"This is only a one-off because of that raging storm," The innkeeper grumbles. "You'd both better be on your best behaviour and don't disturb the missus! She doesn't like me letting travellers stay without fee."

The Doctor strides inside confidently through the warm reception, admiring the woodwork on the walls and the wooden pillars holding up the ceiling. "Oh thank you very much, sir! We won't bother you in the least." The Doctor says, keeping to his Scottish accent.

One of the housemaids scuttles down the stone steps and gives a thick, clean towel to the Doctor and Terry to dry themselves off from the rain. Once dried, they are sat down in the large armchairs by a warm fire, drinking camomile tea.

Terry sniffs her tea before slowing bringing it up to her lips and taking a small sip, instantly recoiling at the taste. The Doctor smirks.

"You don't have to drink it." He whispers.

Terry nods before putting the teacup back onto its saucer on the nearest coffee table. She then glances around the eerily quiet lounge. It is obvious that the villages know about the spaceship and have resulted in staying inside over nights in an attempt to stay safe. She watches the housemaids as a couple walk in and out of the lounge, carrying different bed sheets.

But everything seems too quiet for a Welsh village.

The Doctor watches Terry and even from her expressionless face, he knows that something is bothering her.

"None of the housemaids are human." Terry says before the Doctor opens his mouth to ask her what she is thinking. "They certainly don't smell human anyway."

"Just give them a chance, Terry," The Doctor says softly. "You've never been to Wales before; it's all new to you-"

"Am I interrupting anything?" The Doctor is cut off by a soft female's voice.

Terry and the Doctor turn in their seats to see a young woman, perhaps in her late twenties, standing behind them. She is very slim built with long spindly legs. She wears a short, strapless, black corset dress that contrasts against her very pale skin and bright red lips. Her brown hair is tied up in a neat bun at the nape of her neck. The Doctor looks at her for a while. The woman smirks.

"You may know me as the innkeeper's _missus_ , yet my name will forever remain silent," She giggles as she walks in between their seats and climb inelegantly over the coffee table to stand in front of the fire. She reaches up to the mantelpiece and takes down a packet of cigarettes that is hidden behind a vase of flowers. Both the Doctor and Terry watch her curiously as she lights one cigarette and takes in the first drag. The woman then stares at them back.

"You're not here because you're lost travellers, are you?" She asks abruptly.

"You could call us travellers." The Doctor starts but the woman snorts.

"You're here for the spaceship, I _knew_ it!" She laughs to herself. "Nobody comes to this village. Nobody knows where it is because we built it ourselves. It's got to be that spaceship," The woman looks at the Doctor, admiring his looks. "Who are you anyway?"

"What do you mean, built this village yourselves?" The Doctor inquires.

The woman studies the Doctor as the holds her cigarette between her delicate fingers. "I'll talk if you do," she says with a playful smirk on her lips. "If you tell me how you came to find us, I'll tell you about our cult."

The Doctor and Terry exchange subtle glances. And then with a sigh, the Doctor takes out his physic paper and hands it to the woman.

"Doctor John Smith from UNIT. And this is Second Lieutenant Tiffany Jenner." He says.

The woman stands directly in front of the Doctor and takes the physic paper out his hand to examine it, biting her lower lip seductively.

"Oh I bet you are," She snarls. "And I'm sure you have a lot in mind about these Martians, Doctor." She quickly snaps her hand away when the Doctor tries to reach for the psychic paper. She looks at the paper again before looking back at the Doctor. She licks her lips, and tilts her head to the side. She then pouts. "There are a lot of things I can do with someone of your authority," She reaches down and pulls at his tie. "I could demonstrate for you. Would you mind?"

The Doctor grips onto the arms of the chair and raises an eyebrow. Terry sighs heavily and rolls her eyes. It is not the first time she has seen someone on their travels flirt with the Doctor.

"Uh and there is a lot work that needs to be done. You have aliens walking around your village, I need to see them," The Doctor hesitates when the woman presses her cheek to his and slips her hand into the inside of his coat, clearly looking for something she thinks might be important. "I can at least help your village."

"You're keen," The woman pulls away from the Doctor with his glasses in her hand. "And what do you plan to do when it is over?" She asks as she places the end of his glasses between her teeth. When the Doctor fails to respond, she lets out another playful giggle. "Well you'd better not keep me waiting. You've admitted that you're here for the aliens."

"You said you're a cult."

The woman sighs heavily and momentarily drops the flirtatious act, knowing that it isn't having the effect she desires from the Doctor. "It's been going on for about five years. Ever since we've heard about the Cytracik," she raises an eyebrow. "I suppose you both know all about that."

The Doctor clenches his fists and restrains himself from looking over to Terry. It is 1984. It is at least another thirty years before the Battle of the Cytracik started. How do they know about it in 1984?

"And what is this cult for exactly?" The Doctor asks through gritted teeth.

The woman twiddles with his glasses. "To get the Cytracik of course. We've secluded ourselves from the rest of Wales. Our past relatives think we're dead. No one knows we are here. So we've formed this cult. We're all in it together."

Then they are very quickly interrupted as the innkeeper joins them. The innkeeper and his mistress pause as they look at one another. She lets out a loud sigh before dropping the Doctor's glasses in his lap and leaving the room somewhat sulkily. The innkeeper pulls out a low stool and sits down in between the Doctor and Terry, clasping his hands and looking into the fire. Terry can't help but still feel incredibly awkward after the woman was flirting with the Doctor. Her mood only becomes more infuriated when the innkeeper sits with them. However the smell of something alien increases.

"I'm warning you now," He says. "Once the morning breaks out, you'd best be on your way to wherever you're heading to. Get away from here as fast as possible. Get yourselves _safe_."

The Doctor shifts in his seat, glancing at Terry who is slowly shaking her head. He knows that this man is not to be trusted. "Why?" He asks. "I do love a good old folk tale."

The innkeeper looks at the Doctor suspiciously before drawing in a deep breath. "About a week ago, something flew over our heads and crash landed out in the moors," His voice starts to wobble. "At first it sounded like a helicopter or a plane in the far distance and no one took any notice of it for a while. Sooner or later people started to panic as this flying machine in the sky came closer and was heading straight to our village. Yet it flew straight over our heads, black smoke coming out the back and sparks flying everywhere. We watched it as it flew over the hills and crashed somewhere in the distance over the hills. The wreckage has been searched many times before but it is bolted shut. There were no signs of any creatures for a few days until last night," The man closes his eyes momentarily, shaking his head slowly. "Everyone in the village has become very superstitious over this happening. No one goes out later than six in the evening and whatever building they are in, they will stay for the night. Everyone locks their doors and close their shutters. More and more people have gone to church to prey for God's forgiveness as they believe that this is a punishment for their sins," The innkeeper snorts as he says it. "It's a ridiculous assumption! It's clear that we're in the middle of an alien invasion. Where else in the world would have a flying ship like that? Christianity makes me sick."

"Your wife was saying about your cult." The Doctor says carefully.

The innkeeper shoots daggers at the Doctor but relaxes after a moment. "Yes she is one for opening her big mouth."

"What are you, like one big family?"

"We created this cult looking for one thing. The only thing that divides us is religion. Especially in times like this. There is an alien spaceship out there and some are denying the truth because of God."

"A miniature war between the Christians and the Atheists within a cult. All the while you are wanting to go into a bigger fight. Doesn't sound very good to me."

The innkeeper uses his walking stick to help him to stand up. "Come," He orders walking towards the back door. "There's something you should see." He pushes open the glass back doors and steps out in the storm.

The Doctor and Terry stand up. The Doctor takes hold of Terry's elbow, stopping her from following him just yet.

"He's lying. The cult is true but he doesn't fear the Slitheen."

Terry stares at the door where the innkeeper walked out of. "He smells like an alien."

"Just be vigilant in this village. Don't trust anyone." With that, the Doctor takes in a deep breath and follows the innkeeper. Terry keeps close behind him.

The innkeeper takes them to a large wooden door in the ground at the back of the building which leads down to a basement. Pulling it open, he beckons the Doctor and Terry to go down the stone steps first. They do so and the innkeeper bolts the doors shut when they are all safely inside away from the storm. The basement is a large wine cellar that is held up by thick wooden pillars. Mistletoe hangs from the rafters.

The innkeeper pushes them forward and they move in and out of the wine stacks until they reach another wooden door. He passes his handheld torch to Terry and unlocks the door with a little difficulty. It finally swings open with a loud creak and the innkeeper steps in first, followed by Terry and then the Doctor. The next room is smaller compared to the wine cellar but there is a police guard standing beside a wooden table and strapped to the table is a Slitheen.

The Doctor slowly approaches the table, frowning at the battered Slitheen on the table. Its breathing is short and laboured.

"We found it roaming the hills," The police guard says. "Shot it down and hid it down here to see if it would talk some sense and explain the reason of its arrival. However it only said three things: Doctor, Time Lord and revenge," He shakes his head. "That could mean anything but it won't talk to us."

"It's probably just something some silly story," The mistress strides into the cellar. "Kill it already and that'll be one down." She stands next to the police guard, her hands resting on her hips as she watches the Doctor intently.

Terry gives the Doctor a meaningful look as he peers around the table to look down at the injured Slitheen, ignoring the others that are watching him expectantly. From the look in the creature's eyes, he can tell how much pain it is in and he knows that it probably won't last the next day.

"I'm so sorry." The Doctor whispers.

A silent moment passes and suddenly anger flashes across the Slitheen's face. It starts to screech loudly as it wriggles on the table trying to claw at the Doctor.

"What did you do?" The guard shouts as Terry pulls the Doctor away from the Slitheen. In a hurry, the guard takes out a syringe from his navy royal blue jacket pocket and stabs it harshly in the wrinkly neck of the screeching creature. The Slitheen falls back onto the table with closed eyes.

The Doctor frowns. "What…what have you done to it?"

"Get him out of here before he causes us more trouble this evening!" The guard orders and the innkeeper does so, pushing Terry and the Doctor out of the room, through the wine cellar and back into the reception to the bed and breakfast. The mistress hesitates for a moment before she runs after them.

"I've had enough of this for one day!" The innkeeper hisses as he pushes the Doctor and Terry through the door. "I'll give you your room for the night and I want you out of here before sunrise. And I don't want another word from either of you!"

"Look," The Doctor starts approaching the innkeeper. "You can't keep that creature down there like that! And to make it more interesting for you the spaceship didn't carry just one creature. You have more of them roaming the village and they want _revenge_." The Doctor ignores the innkeeper while he flatulences as he speaks. "They will attack and my friends are out there!"

"And what about you?" The innkeeper cuts through the Doctor. "You seem to be able to change your accent very easily. A good way to break your cover, _Doctor_ ," The innkeeper smirks as the Doctor looks at him hard. "Yes _we_ do plan to attack this Doctor. You got in our way when we were trying to land on Earth, London 2005 and take back what you did to us. We wanted to rewrite time and allow our plan to succeed. Yet because of you, we got tangled in the time tracks. Our journey, travelling back in time to the moment we first met would have succeeded. We want revenge, Doctor, after you and your silly human allies killed us when we nearly took over Downing Street," He lets out a throaty laugh. "Yes revenge is a sweet thing! I guess it is lucky we landed by a village off the map. A village created by a cult that is after the Cytracik."

"Get behind me, Terry." The Doctor mutters pulling Terry behind him as the innkeeper brings his hands up to his forehead to shed the human skin. The lights in the room start to flicker as a bright blue light shines out of the innkeeper's head, revealing a green Slitheen.

The mistress giggles again as she also starts to shed her skin, revealing another Slitheen. The police guard who is now standing with them does the same.

"I told you I could smell alien." Terry says dully.

"Run!" The Doctor shouts and he and Terry pelts through the door and out into the storm.


	10. IX - Crime scene in the pub

**IX  
Crime scene in the pub**

 _20th Century  
_ _Planet Earth  
_ _Wales  
_ _The village  
_ _1984_

Rose and April walk away from the Doctor, Terry, the bog and the spaceship and head down the muddy pathway between the two hills. Rose turns to look back a few times to see if she can still see the Doctor, but after a while he is completely obscured from her view. The further they walk down this pathway, the darker it seems to get. The twilight sky above them is covered in thick clouds and every so often, a raindrop falls out of the sky.

"We've fought them before," Rose starts, breaking the silence between her and April. "The Doctor and I met them for the first time a few years ago when they invaded London. Defeated the Slitheen once before and I'm sure that we can do it again."

April continues to scowl at the ground as they squelch through the mud. Rose can tell that April is holding a grudge against her and Terry, knowing that she finds it difficult to trust others. Rose lets out a sigh, wondering why she should brother if April won't make the same effort back, but she can't stand the silence between them. And she knows that for April's father's wish, they have to make sure that she is going to be okay.

Rose looks at April. "What you must understand, if you decide to stay with us, is that the Doctor is a madman travelling in a blue box; there's no better way to explain him." She smiles to herself.

April nods as they continue walking.

"And what you also must understand is that the Doctor doesn't always make sense. Just nod along even if he's off on a tangent. It doesn't matter if you don't understand."

"He talks a lot about UNIT." April finally says.

"Yeah well they were great friends of the Doctor. He lost them in the Battle of the Cytracik."

April nods once more.

"Hey," Rose starts. "I am trying to make an effort here. I'm trying to help you and make this easy between us, but all I get is a cold shoulder. Okay I get it you didn't ask for this to happen, and neither did I, but the Doctor and travelling is the best thing in my life. We need to at least work as a team if we're ever going to find the Slitheen. Just for this. Talk to me, April. Please."

April stops walking and looks directly ahead.

Rose stares at her in disbelief. "Are you listening to me?"

But April shushes her sharply. Rose, irritated, follows April's gaze, only to find a white glow in the distance.

"We must be nearing the village." Rose says as she rubs her bare arms from the cold blowing breeze.

"I don't think that's the glow from the village." April mutters as she takes a few steps forward, passing Rose.

And she is right. The white glow suddenly starts to grow larger, almost as if it is gradually coming closer towards them. Suddenly there is a sound coming from the glow, similar to the sound of a plane soaring through the air at high speed. April quickly notices that the glow is rushing straight towards them.

"GET DOWN!" April shouts and immediately they both fall to the muddy ground.

The white glow comes soaring over their heads and vanishes in the distance behind them.

"What was that?" Rose asks as she stares at where the white glow disappeared.

"i don't know." April manages to reply through heavy breaths.

Rose scrambles back onto her feet and goes to offer April a hand, but she is already hauling herself out of the mud. Then there is a moment of silence between Rose and April as they become aware of how quiet it is. There is only a very faint breeze in the air, but it is silent, except from a rustle of leaves somewhere in the distant. The pathway between the two hills seems to be growing darker and colder by the second.

"We'd better get to the village quickly." Rose says after a while.

April nods in agreement and they start jogging down the pathway. Rain starts to fall heavily until it is pouring. But to their luck, they reach the village quicker than they originally thought. They find themselves on a cobbled street just as the thunder storm starts brewing.

The little village is quiet yet neither Rose nor April is sure that people are hiding away from the storm.

The village is small with a church at the edge, a couple of grocery stores, a few book stores, a large town hall and many different stone houses. Rose and April find a pub in the middle by the village square. There is a wooden sign swinging by the front door with the name of the pub caved on its surface, _The Iron Merchant's Gargoyle_.

Rose glances at April before reaching for the metal rounded door handle. Turning the handle, she pushes the door inwards. They are immediately met with warmth from the people inside and the roaring fires instantly removes the coldness from the bitter air outside. They are also immediately overcome with the smell of beer.

The pub is packed full of drunk men and women, howling with laughter, chatting up the bar staff or messing about with their friends. And there is one thing both April and Rose notice instantly. Everyone in this room seems to know each other. They are the only two strangers.

It only takes Rose to close the door for them to be the centre of attention. There is a collective clatter as people lower their beer and wine glasses onto the wooden tables. Silence fills the pub as everyone simultaneously turns their heads to look at Rose and April. The fire crackles in the fire place.

April catches the male bartender's eye who is halfway through polishing glasses. He nods his head, to April before clearing his throat.

"Who's up for another pint?" The bartender calls out, his voice filling the silence.

And then all of a sudden, it is as if April and Rose have been forgotten about as everyone looks away and cheers loudly. Chairs are scraped across the stone floor as people stand up and merrily make their way to the bar for another pint of ale.

Rose touches April's elbow lightly but she flinches in fright. Unnoticed by anyone else in the pub, April and Rose glare at each other.

"What's the matter with you?" Rose hisses through gritted teeth before pointing to two unoccupied bar stools at the end of the bar. "Let's go over there where we're not in the way of everyone else."

Holding onto her elbow, April weaves in and out of the tables towards the bar. She keeps her head low, only nervously glancing at the other people with her eyes. Rose follows. They both clamber onto the bar stools and watches the male bartender cheerily serving drinks to his guests – all whom of which seems to be friends alike.

Rose rests her forearms on the bar top, wringing her hands. April, however, sits on the edge of the barstool, looking from the male bartender, to the drunk guests, to the other bar staff who is around and pick up empty glasses here and there.

While pouring pints and taking in money, the male bartender glances over to Rose and April a fair few times. And as soon as everyone is settled with another pint, completely forgetting about the two strangers, the bartender casually wipes the bar top with a cloth, making his way towards Rose and April.

"What are you doing here?" He doesn't even look at them as he casually wipes the surface.

"Nice to meet you too." Rose says rather sarcastically.

"You're not from around here. You don't even have a Welsh accent. You're in danger if you stay here. They don't take too kindly to travellers."

"And who are you to say that?" Rose inquires.

The bartender looks up at Rose, looks at her for a moment before looking to April. He is quite short for a man, no more than at least 5"6'. He has a small round stomach and sports a thick brown, carefully combed moustache on his upper lip. His slightly greying brown hair sits on top of his head rather like a hedgehog, somewhat unkempt.

"Aiden Haulman," he offers a large, dry hand out to Rose. "General Manager to _The Iron Merchant's Gargoyle_ and most recent member to this village. But they've included me in well."

Rose says nothing in response.

"You look like women who know a lot already."

"You could say that," Rose says warily. "We know a little about this village. For a start it isn't even on the map."

"Well no. They're a cult."

"We've got that far." Rose remarks.

April's scowl deepens. "You're not part of the cult?"

Aiden looks pensive for a moment. "They think I am."

"But you're not."

"Not exactly." Aiden suddenly looks nervous. "Who are you?"

"Passers by." Rose replies quickly.

Aiden stares at Rose for a moment. He takes in a deep breath as if to say something but is suddenly interrupted by someone asking for a pint. Immediately Aiden's face changes. He looks brighter but with a forced smile. He is putting on a show as he serves his guests. Rose and April exchange glances, both wondering if this man means well.

"Shall we both be honest with each other while we're here?" Aiden says when he returns. "We can help each other out."

"How?" Rose frowns.

"There's a spaceship not too far from here."

"We know."

"Crash landed about a week ago."

"We know."

"That's the only reason why I'm here."

"We..." Rose stops and she observes Aiden. "Go on."

"For a start, how do you know about the spaceship?" Aiden asks, keeping is voice low, occasionally looking back at his guests, making sure that no one is paying any attention to them.

"The same reason as you," Rose says. "It's the only reason why we are here. There's two others. Friends of ours who are currently looking at the ship."

There is a flicker of understanding in Aiden's eyes. "Time Heals."

And just from that, Rose immediately relaxes in Aiden's presence. "The Doctor is here."

"Thought as much." Aiden half smiles.

Rose turns to April who looks completely bewildered. "It's fine, we can trust him," Rose says as reassuringly as she can, before turning back to Aiden. "How do you know?"

"Through Ireen Summerland."

There is a brief moment and Rose bites onto her tongue. Ireen Summerland, a Captain from UNIT. A fallen soldier from the Battle of the Cytracik.

"She always used to keep me up to date on things like this." Aiden continues. "I'm her cousin. We keep in contact but I haven't actually seen her in years."

Rose nods. "Always thought she had a bit of Welsh in her blood."

"Why have you joined the cult?" April queries.

Aiden shuffles on the spot. "The Battle of the Cytracik."

"What of it?" Rose asks, her voice harsh.

"This is a cult for it. Somehow these people know of the Cytracik. So they built this village and created this cult. All the while they're planning on getting the Cytracik because they know of it's worth."

Rose rolls her eyes.

"And you're here to...?" April pushes.

"Stop them. The Cytracik needs to be destroyed."

There is a moment of silence between them as the three look from one to the other and then to everyone else in the pub.

"The Doctor?" Aiden asks.

"Should be here soon. You'll have to prove your trust though." Rose mutters.

"And you two are?"

Rose hesitates for a second. "Rose Tyler and April Hollerford."

Aiden looks at April, somewhat surprised before he is distracted by yet another guest. And then around five other guests stand up to buy more drinks and a round of drinks for others. Rose watches Aiden put on a show for his guests for a while. Surely the Doctor will also trust him.

"For someone who's taken this experience quite calmly," Rose says to April after a while. "You do find it hard to believe in what people say to you. You don't trust him."

It takes a moment for April to reply. "Trust no one."

"You trust the Doctor though."

"I never said that I trusted him. I just believe him somewhat."

"You trusted him enough to be here."

April scowls harshly. "I didn't have much of a choice. Nor have I had much of a choice in whether or not I want to stay."

Rose sighs heavily knowing full well that it is no use trying too hard to be April's friend. She will always be pushed to the side.

"Do you always push people away?" Rose asks.

April shifts on the stool and changes the subject. "What do you do then, Rose? Live in the Doctor's pocket?"

"We just travel together." Rose looks down at her hands, looking a little hurt.

"Looks like more than just travellers to me."

Rose laughs bitterly. "Unbelievable." She mutters as she shakes her head. "Well the Doctor can't say I didn't try."

"Try what?" April sneers.

"Try to be a friend."

"I don't need a friend."

Rose rolls her eyes. "We'll see about that."

April stares at Rose, who is purposefully looking everywhere around the pub but at her. April sighs as she clasps her hands together, leaning her elbows on the bar top. Maybe Rose is right. Maybe she does need a friend. But with everything that has happened to her these past five years, the thought of putting any sort of trust in anyone terrifies April. For a while she couldn't even trust herself.

April takes a mental note to herself of how easily she has embraced these strange few weeks since she first met the Doctor's hologram. Everything has happened so quickly she hasn't had much time to process the fact that she has met a man who claims to have been friends with her parents and time travels in a police public call box. She is now sitting in a pub in a village that is not on the map, run by some cult in the middle of Wales in the nineteen eighties, looking for some green aliens called the Slitheen.

And April has taken this all in her stride as if everything is normal, when clearly it is not. If she went back home and told her therapist about this, she would probably be sent to some mental institute.

"Is his real name the Doctor? Or is that just a cover name?" April asks out-of-the-blue.

Rose sighs. "I've known the Doctor for a long time and even I don't know. I think it's something he'll never admit, not even to himself I don't think."

A moment later and there is a massive bang as the front door dramatically bursts open. Gasps and a few screams erupt in the pub which is quickly followed by a stunned silence. April and Rose crane their necks to see what has just burst through the door but everyone else blocks their view. All that can be heard is the raging sound of the storm outside.

"Sorry about that!"

April and Rose both let out a sigh of relief when they hear the Doctor's voice across the pub.

"Don't worry about us," He says. "We just had to get out of the storm."

Soon the pub slowly crescendos back into chatter and laughter again, just as it was before the Doctor's interruption. Rose smiles gratefully when she sees the Doctor weaving in and out of the tables followed by Terry. He reaches them, almost as if he knew where they are sitting, yet his face is serious.

"Look what the cat dragged in, the oncoming storm!" Rose laughs at his dramatic entrance.

"We can't afford to let anyone find out our real identity," The Doctor says in a low voice. "I know I say that often but right now stick to your cover names no matter what. The Slitheen want revenge," He looks at Rose. "They want revenge on you and I after we stopped them at Downing Street. They were travelling to that exact time period but because April and I were time travelling, it was impossible for them to go back to that exact date, therefore the reason as to why they were tangled in time and space..." the Doctor notices Rose's crestfallen face. "What is it?"

"There's one man here who know April and I by our real names," she then quickly stops the Doctor from interrupting her. "Aiden Haulman. Don't know if the name rings a bell?"

"Ireen?"

Rose nods. She then frowns. "How did you find out? About the Slitheen?" She asks. "Did you manage to get into their ship?"

"It was locked." Terry replies dully.

The Doctor glances at one of the men sitting at the table closest to them. "Aiden is the last straw, okay. These people cannot be trusted here."

Rose understands and nods.

"And I fear that there may be some sort of rivalry in this cult." The Doctor mutters to himself, remembering the innkeeper saying how Christianity makes him sick. "But I don't know if it is anything of interest. Maybe some sort of distraction..."

And then right on cue there is a scream. A male scream coming from the toilets at the back of the pub. There is a horrified silence around the pub as everyone turns their attention to the toilet doors. Seconds later and a rather drunk man stumbles out of the toilets, sweat pouring down his face and fear in his eyes.

"Someone is dead!"


	11. X - Suspects

**X  
Suspects**

 _20_ _th_ _Century  
_ _Wales  
_ _The Iron Merchant's Gargoyle  
_ _1984_

A man lies flat on his stomach, in a pool of his own blood, in the middle of the male toilets. His limbs are splayed out at different angles and his neck is twisted at an odd way – clearly broken. His light grey eyes stare lifelessly out.

The Doctor, Terry, Aiden and the man who found the body, stand in the doorway to the bathroom, staring down at this dead body. They are silent for a long while as they observe this. But eventually the Doctor is the first to move. He steps into the bathroom and crouches down beside the body. And then he sniffs the air.

Terry shuffles uncomfortably on the spot as the Doctor does this. She is itching to get out her handheld device for she knows that this is no accident. Instead she goes to join the Doctor. She stands just over his shoulder and observes the dead body.

Terry cocks her head to the side thoughtfully. "Well his neck is clearly broken," she states flatly. "That is why he is dead." She says this in such a way it sounds as if she is teaching young children, even though she is stating the one thing they all can see.

"But where is all the blood coming from?" Aiden asks.

The Doctor puts on his black, thick-rimmed glasses, trying to see where the blood is coming from. However, Terry, who is now suddenly wearing rubber gloves, gently lifts the dead man by his limp arm and rolls his body over so that he is lying on his back.

The man who found the body starts to whimper at the sight of the the large, deep gash in the dead man's stomach. Aiden turns and starts to direct the man away from the scene. Then when they are alone, Terry and the Doctor look at each other.

"Slitheen?" The Doctor says.

"There's no other explanation. I can smell one here." Terry says darkly.

"In the pub?"

Terry nods.

"No one could have come in without me knowing," Aiden says, who has now returned to the bathroom. "I keep tabs on every guest that walks in and out of this pub and I know this man," he nods to the dead body. "He is a member of a cult like everyone else here."

"So the murderer is with us in the pub tonight." The Doctor says, glancing warily from Aiden to Terry. He then jumps up on his feet. "Lock the pub." With that, he walks out of the bathroom and back into the pub.

The pub is silent and all the slightly drunk guests stare at the Doctor, their faces full of shock horror.

"There has been a murder," the Doctor announces but there is not the slightest hint of a stir in the pub. "A member of this cult has been murdered behind your backs."

And then there seems to be a few mutters across the pub and the guests whisper words to each other.

"Who would ever do such a thing?"

"The man was always quite reserved from the rest of us, but he never had anything to hide."

"God rest his soul."

"How could this have happened to us?"

"Well one thing for sure," the Doctor says as he steps forward. "That each and every one of you is a suspect," he walks around the tables, heading towards the entrance door. "And none of us will leave this pub until the murderer owns up. We can wait all night if we have to." The Doctor bolts the pub door locked.

"And who are you and your friends? What makes you think we can trust you?" One of the guests says rather spitefully.

The Doctor hesitates for a second, smiling gleefully to himself, with his back still to everyone in the pub. This situation they are in, it isn't exactly a laughing matter, but sometimes announcing who he is the one of the Doctor's favourite things to do on his travels.

The Doctor slowly turns around so that he is facing everyone with a smirk. "Because I am the Doctor. And no one bypasses me."


	12. XI - The rivalry

**XI  
The rivalry**

 _20_ _th_ _Century  
_ _Wales  
_ _The Iron Merchant's Gargoyle  
_ _1984_

The pub is silent for a long while before quiet chatter arises. It seems as if no one in the pub can trust one another. Someone here has murdered a cult member and to the cult, this act is unspeakable. But eventually, the alcohol starts to drain out of the guests' systems and they slowly start to drop off to sleep.

"You should get some rest too." The Doctor says to Rose.

Rose shakes her head. "I'm fine, honestly," she insists. "Terry says that she can smell a Slitheen in our midst, so that's enough for me to want to stay awake. April needs the rest though," Rose turns and nods over to April who sits in the corner, her head resting against the wall, fast asleep. "You think she is going to be okay?"

"I hope so." The Doctor replies.

"What do we do now?"

The Doctor sighs, stuffing his hands in his trouser pockets. For a moment he doesn't answer as he watches everyone in the pub settling down to sleep for the night. Clearly no one is planning on standing up and owning to the truth.

"Truth is that it was all a set up." The Doctor says quietly.

Rose looks at the Doctor with raised eyebrows.

"The murder is real, we can guarantee that, but it was just a set up. An attempt to distract us from what is actually going on."

"About the Slitheen spaceship?"

"The Slitheen are with us right now. This cult is made for the Cytracik. An easy target for the Slitheen."

* * *

April finds herself back on the beach, looking out at the Black Lighthouse as it flashes five times. She suddenly wakes up with a jolt while the fiery pain burns in her chest. She gasps desperately for air as the pain in her chest becomes worse again.

For a while April remains sitting upright with her back against the cold stone wall, looking around the pub and noticing that some of the candles on the tables are nearly burnt out. She tries to think how many hours she has been asleep for, just to get her mind away from her burning chest. It takes her a while to remind herself that she is in a pub in a strange little village in the middle of some Welsh moors. There has been a murder and each and every person in this pub is a suspect. She is not on that beach any more.

Once April catches her breath again, she slowly pushes herself out of the seat she fell asleep in and surveys the room. When she is sure that no one is watching her and that they are all asleep, she heads down the back corridor towards the ladies toilets. She stops when she finds the Doctor sitting on the tiled floor by the open back door, looking out at the Welsh moors in the distance. The rainy storm is still falling but it doesn't seem to bother him.

Crossing her arms across her chest tightly as the cold air slowly soothes her pain; April creeps up behind the Doctor, who is muttering to himself. She wonders if the Doctor sleeps at all or if this is his sleeping state. When she is a couple of steps behind him, he stops muttering.

"Can't sleep?" The Doctor asks, noticing her presence without even turning around.

April sighs and sits down on the floor next to him, tucking her feet under her legs. "It was just a nightmare. It's nothing new."

"I know," The Doctor says, looking at her. "I've heard you muttering in your sleep a few times before. Your words aren't always the same but they evolve around the same subject." The Doctor continues to watch April as she stares out at the hills. "April, is there anything you feel like you want to tell me?" He speaks slowly and carefully. "You know I am here to help. I may be this madman always on the run from aliens but like I said, I will be your friend."

Still feeling vulnerable from the fear from her nightmare, she suddenly feels like she wants to talk to the Doctor about Bruce. "Doctor…" She starts but before she has the chance to say any further, she is quickly cut off as Terry comes running over to them.

"There's something in the shadows outside, I can sense it," She breathes. "And it's coming straight in our direction. It smells alien to me."

The Doctor jumps to his feet and rushes back into the pub. He carefully steps around the sleeping villagers and joins Rose who has her face pressed up against the front window.

"It's too dark to see what it is," Rose says quietly. "But I can see that they are carrying fire torches." And she is correct for there is an orangy glow over the dark crowd stomping towards them. "Why would the Slitheen carry fire torches?"

"The shadows are too small to be Slitheen," The Doctor says sternly. "Make sure that no one leaves this pub!"

Rose nods as she pushes herself away from the window and turns to look at the sleeping pub members. Soon she starts running around and shaking everyone awake, forcing them to get up as something is coming their way. At first villagers are grouchy for being woken up when it isn't even morning but then panic suddenly starts to rise and everyone believes it to be a herd of Slitheen coming their way. Aiden comes bustling back into the pub and storms up to the Doctor.

"What do you think you're doing?" He shouts, frustration burning in his eyes.

"Just trying to save everyone from this upcoming herd," The Doctor snaps back. "So I suggest that you'd better help me in calming everyone down! Blow out the candles and don't draw attention to this pub. Is it wise for the rest of this cult to know about the murder?"

Aiden narrows his eyes. "They will find out anyway. And this is _my_ pub so while I'm still alive, everyone is under _my_ orders!"

There is a hesitant pause between the Doctor and Aiden. Aiden glaring at the Doctor and the Doctor looking rather surprised. However Aiden subtly winks at the Doctor, letting him know that he is still playing at part in the cult. The Doctor nods and turns away from him.

"Please tell me you have night vision ray." April asks Terry, as they both peer out the front window.

Terry squints her eyes as her mechanical vision focuses on the crowd in the distance. "They're not Slitheen." She finally says, pulling away from the window.

"Then who are they?"

"Christians. The other half of this cult." Terry then turns to look for the Doctor, ignoring April's puzzled facial expression.

April turns back to look out the window, wondering as to why there is a group of angry looking Christians with fire torches marching their way.

Terry opens her mouth to tell the Doctor but Aiden swings open the front door and steps out on the porch. The Doctor, Rose, Terry and April follow him.

"Come any closer and I will shoot! You know I have a rifle here!" Aiden shouts as the crowd comes closer and closer. They continue to march forward until the light from their fire torches light up their many different faces.

"Hang on, they're not Slitheen!" Rose says, glancing over at the Doctor.

Aiden steps off the porch onto the cobbled street as the rest of the villagers in the pub start filing out. "No, they're just Christians," He hisses before shouting out, "What are you doing here?"

The Christians stop when they are only a few meters away. The vicar, who is leading the mob, takes a step forward.

"We've gone through a week of this torture," He bellows. "What with that ship. And you have murdered a value member of us."

"Wait how did you lot know about that?" The Doctor snaps but no one listens to him.

"We are trying to figure that out ourselves!" Aiden snaps.

"Thou shall not kill. How dare you? We are a cult. We were supposed to work together for that battle!"

One of the people from the pub steps forward, laughing. "You decided to separate yourselves from us with your religious beliefs."

"There is nothing wrong with Christianity!" Someone shouts, stepping out from behind the vicar.

The Doctor steps in between the two rivalry gangs and the pub crowd cheers. "A rivalry between the atheists and the theists? This is literally ridiculous!" He says, sounding rather amused. He then turns to Aiden. "You can't keep going on with this silly battle. There's bigger fish to fry right now." He says deeply trying to sound as subtle as possible.

One of the pub guests snorts. "And who's giving _you_ the right to tell us what to do? You're just passing travellers."

The Doctor suddenly starts to become angry as he turns to look at the vicar. "This is ridiculous! It really is. You lot are insane to worry about each other's beliefs right now. A spaceship crash landed out in the moors last week and while you hide away in this village you spend your time arguing over each other's beliefs. I thought you wanted to fight for the Cytracik. You'll never get there while you're like this. These creatures will kill you all not caring about what you believe in," The Doctor looks at Aiden's piercing look. "Save me from the stubbornness of Welsh people or so help me!"

"It's your fault!" The vicar points a shaky hand at Aiden and the group of guests from the pub. "The blame is on you for this happening with the creatures. It's because of your sin. You all must be banished from this village at once! First these aliens come here and now you murder one of us!"

"Our sin? How about your sin?" Another pub guest sneers.

"DID ANYONE EVEN LISTEN TO ME?" The Doctor shouts, his frustration building intensely. One of the men from the pub squeezes in between April and Rose and takes a step forward.

"The reasoning behind these beasts coming to our village is no one's fault. This isn't a punishment for any of our sins," He says proudly. "You should take heed in what the Doctor is saying to you," It suddenly strikes the Doctor, Rose, April and Terry as to how this man knows who he is. "He was the one he brought all this trouble after all."

There is a moment of confused silence as the crowd tries to understand what he means. But the confusion drops very quickly. The man smirks at the Doctor before lifting his hands to his forehead. Half the pub crowd does the same as they all start to pull open the invisible zip in their foreheads. A blue light erupts as they start to shed their human skin. Aiden takes a few steps back in horror, watching what his once were regular guests, change into big, ugly green creatures.

"I knew it." Aiden mutters under his breath.

The vicar kisses the wooden cross on a chain hanging around his neck before ordering the rest of the Christians to get back to the church. The Doctor shouts at the remaining villagers from the pub to go with them.

Without a question everyone starts running over to the church, followed by Rose and Terry. Aiden takes a couple of steps away, watching the Slitheen appear in horror and amazement.

"Aiden, we must go!" The Doctor urges.

"Not with them," He replies, gesturing towards the church. "I'd happily go anywhere but there!"

The Doctor groans. "Would you just forget this rivalry for one night?" He then lowers his voice. "Drop the act now."

When the Slitheen have almost shed their skin, Aiden nods in understanding before running after the others. The Doctor then turns to April who is also watching the Slitheen.

"April," The Doctor warns in more of a softer tone. "They will kill you and use your skin as a disguise once they have shed theirs."

"I know." April says as she continues to watch the Slitheen. "But you have to admit that they're beautiful."

There is a moment before the Doctor starts to laugh in surprise. "You've learnt well from me."

April draws her eyes away from the Slitheen and looks at the Doctor's outstretched hand that hovers close to her arm. They look at each other for a moment before the Doctor quickly drops his hand.

"It's fascinating though." April says before she lightly hits the Doctor playfully on his chest with the back of her hand which surprises him. "Let's go."

With that, they run through the village streets, catching up with the others just as soon as the Slitheen finish shedding their skin. They can hear the creature's loud footfalls running after them from behind.

The vicar stands by the large entrance oak doors of the church, ushering them inside as they all run down the aisle. Under the red carpet at the altar, there is a trapdoor which leads under the church into a cold, stoned alleyway. The Doctor bolts the front doors of the church with his sonic screwdriver and allows the vicar to enter through the trapdoor first, followed by April and them himself. He uses his screwdriver again to bolt the trapdoor just as the Slitheen start scratching away at the church's front doors and calling for the Doctor.

Everyone immediately falls silent, covering their mouths and trying to quieten their heavy breathing as they listen to the roar of the creatures above them. The vicar holds out his wooden cross towards the trapdoor, muttering some words to himself. Soon enough the sound subsides and the Slitheen leave.

"Is…is that it?" The vicar asks as his voice trembles. "Are we safe…Doctor?"

"Not for long." The Doctor mutters moodily before following the other Christians and remaining pub guests through the damp alleyway which eventually leads them into a very large room with iron walls. There are a few metal tables and chairs dotted here and there as well as a few bookcases. Bright light bulbs dangle from the ceiling. The Christians start to build up camp when the vicar tells them to.

Rose, Terry and the Doctor stand together looking out at this strange room built under the church. And everyone around them acts like they visit this place on a regular basis.

"Who was it?" Someone asks, looking at Aiden. "Who was murdered?"

"Jenson Marv." Aiden replies darkly.

"It was the Slitheen," the Doctor intersects before anyone else can. "I knew it from the moment I saw his body. I suspected that there was a Slitheen in the midst of the guests. I just wasn't expecting-"

"Half the bloody people in this village to be Slitheen in disguise," Aiden snaps, and then lowers his voice, standing close to the Doctor. "How do we know if anyone here is a Slitheen?"

There is a beat of silence between them.

Then without saying another word the Doctor takes out his sonic screwdriver and starts scanning the walls. He moves quickly like lightening, muttering to himself as he does so.

"What was this room built for?" The Doctor asks aloud after a while.

"In case of future wars, especially the Battle of the Cytracik" The vicar replies calmly. "Thank yourself lucky."

"Doctor," Aiden says in a warning tone. "What are those creatures? And what do they mean about you being the blame?"

The Doctor is suddenly aware of how everyone in this room is now watching him cautiously. "I'm not the blame for them landing here," The Doctor replies, tucking the screwdriver in his jacket pocket. "They're called the Slitheen from the planet Raxacoricofallapatorius. They want revenge on me after last time I defeated them. Us landing here was accidental. We tried to stop them."

Aiden narrows his eyes, suddenly suspicious. "Both landed here? What are you then, Doctor?"

The Doctor points at Aiden. "That's no concern of yours and you're certainly not getting in my good books right now, Aiden Haulman. Even if you are a relative to Ireen Summerland. You should be more concerned about your own safety instead of that battle. It won't be long before the Slitheen find their way underground and kill us all. The walls of this room won't hold together for any longer than a couple of days. So far we are trapped down here till they come and if you really want to save your own and everybody else's life than you'd better think of a plan and FORGET ABOUT YOUR RIVALRY WITH THE CHRISTIANS!" The room falls completely silent when the Doctor shouts. The Doctor and Aiden stare at each other, both holding onto their breaths. The Doctor subtly winks. "They are just as scared as you are."

Aiden looks down at his shoes guiltily as everyone starts talking among themselves again. The Doctor walks over to April who to his surprise looks quite impressed.

"Never saw it in you." She says as she folds her arms.

"What?" The Doctor stares at April, frowning slightly.

"That anger," she then nods over to Aiden who has sat himself down at one of the iron tables by himself. "You both have a good show you're putting on."

"I'm trying to save his life," the Doctor grumbles under his breath. "If anyone here knew that he is against them and are trying to stop them from taking part in the Battle of the Cytracik, it will kill him. Especially with the Slitheen here."

April nods. "You're good at pretending."

The Doctor hesitates for a moment. "I'm sorry."

April looks at the Doctor's guilty expression. "Don't worry, I mean it's completely fine, really," The Doctor hears the slight panic in April's voice. "Clearly it's possible that we're all going to be killed under a Welsh church during the nineteen eighties," She runs her tongue along her teeth. "Yeah and I haven't even been born yet."

The Doctor sighs as he looks round at the other Christians and remaining villagers while they are setting up camp. Some are huddled together in prayer.

"You're a time traveller. Surely you can stop this?"

The Doctor shakes his head. "Time is not linear. I jump in the middle of it. So yes you can die ten years before you are even born."

"Brilliant," April remarks sarcastically. "Do you have a plan?" Although her voice is flat and no where near as hopeful as her words are.

"Not any more." The Doctor breathes out heavily.

"So we're stuck here till the Slitheen break in and take their revenge?"

"Well I am the Doctor," He says as he shifts on the spot. "I'll save us all and the six billion people on this planet."

"And have you thought about what to do if it all goes topsy turvy?"

"Come on, April, think positively!"

"No, in all honesty, Doctor. What are we to do?"

"We just run. And we keep on running, April Hollerford."

April and the Doctor turn to look at each other. Although all the muscles in her cheeks ache when doing so, April can't help but weakly smirk at the Doctor which slowly turns into a small grin – something she hasn't done since her parents died.

The Doctor smiles back broadly. "That's more like it!" He says cheerfully.

"I'd love to see a library," April admits out-of-the-blue, her small smile vanishing. "Whether it's an alien library or the biggest library in the world. Would you take me to one if I asked?"

"I'll take you anywhere you want. I can take you to the planet that is nothing but a library. Books are the best weapons anyone could have after all." The Doctor turns to join Rose and Terry who are sitting in the corner of the hall.

April puts her hand to her cheeks, surprised at herself for letting those muscles in her face work and smile.

"You'd better get some sleep." The Doctor tells Rose as he sits down on the cold floor next to her. "We've got a long night ahead of us, Rose Tyler."


	13. XII - Tarot card readings

**XII  
Tarot card readings**

 _20_ _th_ _Century  
_ _Wales  
_ _Under the church  
_ _1984_

April sits on the cold flooring beside Terry. Terry sits with her back straight up against the wall and her legs stretched out in front of her. Her black eyes jump from looking at one sleeping person to the next, as if she is studying them. Then over to her right is the Doctor and Rose. Rose's hand rests limply in his and she rests against his shoulder, fast asleep. The Doctor, however, looks rather troubled.

Suddenly feeling the cold air around her in this room, April hugs her knees tightly, trying to contain all of her own body heat. Every so often she looks down at her wrist watch, wondering how many hours she can get through without falling asleep. Due to the closed-in surroundings, she can't quite make head or tail if it is day or night. However like most nights back home where she tried to stay awake, her eyes eventually start to close. Once they are shut, she is suddenly met with the image of the Black Lighthouse.

April jolts awake with a sharp headache.

"Something's bothering you."

April surveys the silent room and eventually notices the Doctor watching her with a concerned look. She then looks to Terry next to her who seems to be watching her every move. A small shiver runs down April's spine and she tugs at the thick sleeves to her grey hoodie.

"It's just a headache," April replies, shrugging. "I just need some water." Then using the wall for support, she gets back up on her feet and leaves the hall, trying her hardest not to wake anyone else.

As April does this, the Doctor makes a move to follow her, but Terry silently raises a hand to stop him. For a moment they look at each other. Terry then shakes her head. April heads back through the alleyway yet the hope of finding a place to get some water is very low, so April finds herself walking up and down the alleyway aimlessly with a heavy heart.

April folds her arms tightly across her chest, her teeth chattering from the cold. At least the cold air is keeping her awake. April then leans against the slightly damp stone wall and stares at the wall opposite, scowling heavily. For the next few moments, she tries to gather her thoughts as to what is happening.

Her plan to run away from Bruce before she fell through the dustbin seems so far away now. Surely it has been at least few weeks, perhaps a month since she has started travelling with the Doctor. And yet it feels like no time has past at all.

However, April's thoughts are quickly interrupted.

"Young girl, would you like to take some readings?" The croaky female's voice makes April jump.

Sitting in the corner of one of the bends in the alleyway is a black woman, looking around in her late sixties, shuffling a deck of tarot cards. The woman sits cross legged on the stone ground and to her left is a couple of burning jasmine sticks. The smell reminds April of her therapist's office and she suddenly recoils.

"Uhm, no thank you," Says April, shaking her head. "I'd best be getting back to the others."

"But why would you, a young woman travelling with a lonely God not be in the least bit curious about her future? He already suspects there's something about you with your recurring nightmares of the Island and the Black Lighthouse. You're his hardest challenge."

For a moment, April is completely taken aback. Now this woman has got her attention. "Who are you?" April hisses sternly. She feels more angry at this woman rather than scared. "How did you know about that?"

The old woman half-smiles, revealing her yellowed teeth. "Come, my child, and let's see what the cards have to say about you."

April glares at the woman for a long while, not trusting her and yet somewhat curious at the same time.

"I'm not going to bite, child. Let's see what your life says about you. You'll forget when you return to the lonely God. Until a few years when you are reminded of this day." The woman holds out her hand, inviting April to join her.

Despite the slight panic April felt when her nightmare was mentioned, she suddenly feels intrigued by this old woman, who she swear was not there in the alleyway with her moments ago. But she finds herself slowly moving forward to sit opposite her. She surprises herself by wanting to hear this woman and wonder if the jasmine sticks have some sort of enchantment to them. It seems like a reasonable answer as she ignores her inner voice wanting her to go back to the hall with the others.

The woman shuffles the deck cards for a while before laying out ten cards in a particular formation, facing down. April studies the same painted pattern on the back of each card, seeing the different hues of red being interwoven with a deep blue.

"Have a sip of this. It will ease the mind." The old woman passes April a glass of mulled wine.

April shakes her head. "I'm not one for taking drinks off strangers."

"And yet you are happy to travel with three strangers."

April stares at the woman curiously before giving in and taking the wine. She doesn't think twice before downing the drink in one, feeling the hot wine slip down her throat.

"Now," The woman continues, placing the remaining cards next to the burning sticks. "The first one," She points to the one closest to April. "Will tell you about your _present_ position."

April stares at the cards for a while before slowly reaching for the card and turning it over. The Magician. April doesn't know what it means but the old woman chuckles in delight.

"Ahh yes," She coos. "You are a very intelligent young woman, I see! You received it from both your parents. And you have a skill; a skill you may not have noticed yet," She lowers her voice. "You're a natural born fighter. And I can see that it will do you no harm at all. UNIT would have liked you as part of their team if they were still alive."

April does not mention about the fact that they are supposed to be at least twenty years before UNIT supposedly died in battle. Like the Doctor says, time is not linear.

The old woman looks down at the card thoughtfully and frowns. "Yet you can be very manipulative. I can see it in your eyes. Your scowl tells stories of your fear for Bruce Fey, yet you can come across as overpowering to others."

April flinches at the mention of Bruce Fey and suddenly wants to get away from the scene, a sense of unease slowly overcoming her. And yet she is still full of curiosity. About a month ago, April was living in her darkest days, wanting nothing more than her death, but now she sits here feeling rather curious about her life.

"Yes we'll have more of that later," The woman says as if reading April's thoughts. "Let's take a look at your second card. This one is your immediate influence of what lies just ahead."

Without further ado, feeling more curious than fearful, April quickly turns over the card to reveal The High Priestess, however this time the card is upside down. April frowns knowing that if a tarot card is seen upside down, it means negativity.

"Ahh yes, yes," The woman nods. "Yes you will have an emotional block due to snobbery, stubbornness or maybe even ignorance. Possibly down to a love affair."

April's scowl deepens and then she snorts in disbelief. Love is practically non-existent to her. The old woman moves on to her third card which will show her goal or destiny. It is The Chariot facing upwards.

It seems as if the old woman is trying to avoid April's eye as she speaks looking down at the card. "You will be experiencing many battles in your future that will only end in success and triumph if you take heed in what is happening around you now. This can only be accomplished _based_ on existing circumstances."

April opens her mouth to speak but the old woman shushes her again. This irritates April but she says nothing in response.

"Save the questions for the end," The old woman waves her hand over the fourth card slowly. "The distant past." She whispers.

April hesitates before flipping the card over. A part of her is afraid to see what it is going to be, yet she is also intrigued as to what the old woman might say. The card is The Tower which is another figure of tarot reading that means nothing to her.

"I see," The woman breathes out deeply. "You need change as the old ways are no longer of value to you. Unseen forces are at work and humbling events and powers demand that extra bit of attention."

The meaning of the card does not make any sense to April as she tries to understand exactly what the old woman is telling her. She can't quite figure if it is talking about her parent's death. It feels like everything her tarot cards are telling her are meant to ring the truth but she doesn't know how to go about the things that mention her future. Is being with the Doctor really going to let her experience through many different battles?

"Now the fifth one is the recent past. It will show the most recent sphere of influences of events that have passed on…or are passing."

It then quickly comes to April's realisation that the fourth card isn't commenting on the effects of her parent's death but her childhood when they were still alive. She flips the card to see The Hermit upside down.

The old woman smacks her lips and then hums loudly. "Well this explains a lot about your scowl," She says somewhat distantly, pointing to April. "I believe your loss five years ago has brought you stubbornness, objection, fear, self-delusion, attempts at self destruction and false humility. And because of this you sometimes have a lack of communication with others or perhaps untruthful responses when there is communication. For instance you have not mentioned to the lonely God about your nightmare. Or you push the human and the Cyborg away."

"Fuck off." April snaps.

The woman's head shoots up and she looks directly at April. There is a moment of silence and April wonders if she is going to be punished. But the woman looks back down at the cards.

"Just continue to observe everything," The old woman sighs. "The sixth card will show your near future influences."

April clumsily flips the card over.

The old woman suddenly gasps dramatically, rocking backwards as she clasps her hands to her chest. April looks down at the card and fear rises up inside her slowly.

The card shows Death upside down.

April looks up at the old woman. Despite the woman's reaction, the card doesn't scare her. "What does it mean?" She queries, shrugging her shoulders.

"Just like The Tower showed you: _change_ is needed," The old woman's voice quivers. "If you don't think on it, you'll be landing in this! Stuck with your depression forever! Trapped in limbo and failure will fall upon you, April Hollerford!" The old woman's voice becomes hysterical and echoes through the alleyway.

April is more surprised by her dramatic attitude than her words. The woman eventually clears her throat as she calms herself down.

"What do you mean by change?" April asks.

"And so we'll move onto the seventh card," The old woman ignores her. "Which is the questioner. It will portray your present position and attitude with the surrounding circumstances."

April stares at the old woman who still seems to be avoiding her eye. She quickly flips the card over, wanting to get to the end of the tarot reading as quickly as possible.

The next card reveals The Moon. This card suddenly puts April at ease. The sketch of the full moon feels so familiar to her; a sight she adores.

The old woman examines the card, looking rather surprised. "Well there _are_ some hidden changes in there. Perhaps a slow build in trust and confidence. Very slight though. Dreams and intuitions of a foreboding nature. You are a lover and an astral traveller with a psychic development. Many secrets are guarded within the soul," The old woman stares at April thoughtfully for a while before raising her eyebrows and moving on to the eighth card. "Ah and this is the environmental factors that will show your influence on other people around you and your influence on life," She watches April turn the card to show the Queen of Pentangles. "This is interesting," She picks up the card and shows it to April. "You see the Queen has landed the right way up for you which means you are seen as a warm hearted soul and a tower of strength, yet…" She turns the card over so it is upside down. "You are also seen as an insecure individual whom is fearful of failure and given to moodiness," The old woman looks at the card down her nose. "It's a funny one because most of these cards are permanent fixtures and some can be changed by you yourself. But with this one," She turns the card round and round continuously. "You have the ability to change your fate. You can change whichever way this card turns," She places the card back down to where she picks it up from and then rubs her hands together excitedly. "Only two more to go! This next one will show your inner emotions: your inner hopes, hidden emotions and your secret desires, fears and anxieties."

For some odd reason, this is the one card that interests April the most. She wants to know what the card will say about her and whether or not it is going to be accurate. The card is The Hanged Man.

"I'm certainly not surprised at this," The woman says, raising an eyebrow. "Your faith is in one's own development. New and old beliefs are put to the test for this to happen. There are good intentions despite the unconventional behaviour. However you will experience suspension, suffering and sacrifice in that order. That's something to take note of. Suspension, long and painful. You have to enter old places you felt at home. Suffering. You will keep suffering until the battle for that Cytracik is over. And sacrifice. You'll think of something that might be the only way," She then smiles. "And now for the final result. The result of the influences as revealed by the other cards. Good luck."

April watches the old woman, curious as to why she wished her luck. The final card turns out to be The Wheel of Fortune. It is upside down.

The old woman shifts on the spot. "Self-delusion is now a refuge from lessons to be learned. Reality is confronted and there will be a change for the worse. April Hollerford, you have a very hard lesson to learn in your future about your own stubbornness. Improper actions will be used. _Change_ is needed."

They both fall silent and April continues to watch the woman. She notices that the smell of burnt jasmine has now vanished and the air around her is very cool.

"I never told you my name." April states, narrowing her eyes.

"One day, child, you will see things that have gone wrong which will all be down to your own doings. You will see your friends fall down one by one and their death will be down to you." The woman quickly grabs onto April's arm tightly just as she is about to make a move to leave. She pulls the sleeve to April's hoodie to reveal her scars. April starts to panic and cries out, trying to snatch her arm away.

"Get away from me!" April cries but the woman holds on tighter.

"Sacrifice will be your only answer!" Her voice suddenly becomes shrill. She then lets go of April who quickly scrambles to her feet and runs to the other end of the alleyway. April catches her breath again as she folds her arms across her chest, trying her hide her wrists from view completely. She then looks back at the old woman who is looking down at the over turned cards. The jasmine sticks have completely burnt out.

All of a sudden, she has never felt as vulnerable as she does now since she has been with the Doctor.

"You have the ability to change, April. You just need to see what," The woman's voice is calm once more. "Once you understand that Time Heals, _then_ you can change it. You'll have one shot of it."

"What's going on here?" The Doctor steps out of the shadows, looking from the old woman to April.

April clears her throat. "Nothing," she lies. "Everything's fine. I was just getting my fortune told with silly little tarot cards. None of it is true."

The Doctor studies her quickly; knowing that something is upsetting her but can't see what. He then nods. "Come on. Aiden is brewing up some tea."

The Doctor takes a step away away but then stops as he turns his attention to the old woman. She sits there with her head bowed over her deck of cards, shuffling them around. She hums a tune under her breath. A very recognisable nursery rhyme. It takes the Doctor and April seconds before they recognise the tune to the well known nursery rhyme, _Oranges and Lemons_. But this does not seem odd to the Doctor. She is just a tarot card reader humming a song to herself.

But it does not explain the way April has visibly closed in on herself.

April slowly follows the Doctor but before she leaves the cold alleyway, she turns back to look at the fortune teller one last time. The woman holds up the upside down Hermit card, shaking her head in disappointment.

And then April remembers what the card meant: untruthful responses.

She has just lied to the Doctor.


	14. XIII - One lonely madman

**XIII  
One lonely madman and an intelligent young woman**

 _20_ _th_ _Century  
_ _Planet Earth  
_ _Wales  
_ _Under the church  
_ _1984_

Everyone in the hall is still fast asleep by the time the Doctor and April return. The Doctor insists that April should at least try to get more rest. He wants to be alone to think of a plan to save everyone. Rose is fast asleep with the Doctor's coat draped over her shoulders. Terry sits upright, but her eyes are unfocused and unmoving. Aiden is still awake, watching the sleeping villagers carefully.

April drifts in and out of sleep but is again jolted awake from the image of the Black Lighthouse. The fiery pain is only vague, but enough to put her at unease. She catches the Doctor, who is sitting beside Rose, watching her before. For a second she holds his eye but immediately their attention to drawn away as there are piercing, manic screams coming from outside. The screams are quickly followed by laughter from the Slitheen.

"They've continued to sneak into the village houses, kill the people inside to use their skin for cover." The Doctor says solemnly, as Rose and most people in the hall stir awake.

"We can't just hide down here and allow those creatures to do this!" Aiden hisses. "We've got to do something," He looks over to the vicar who is hurriedly trying to calm everyone down as panic starts to arise. "Fat lot of good they will be."

The Doctor rolls his eyes before taking out his sonic screwdriver and shining it up at the ceiling of the hall. The screams outside are silenced and so does the panic inside.

"Just sleep on it," He says aloud as he puts his screwdriver back into his pocket. "We'll figure something out in the morning."

There are a few murmurs as everyone starts to nestle down again to sleep.

"Who are you, Doctor?" Aiden asks, narrowing his eyes. "You claim to know Ireen but she hardly ever mentioned you. You weren't even part of the Battle of the Cytracik."

"I tried my best." The Doctor says sternly, staring at Aiden, wondering whether or not he really wants to trust this man.

Aiden then looks at April. "And let me guess you've found the Ice Girl in the end?"

"What?" April cusses but she is ignored.

"One lonely madman and an intelligent young woman to give you and your companions your hardest adventure yet. That's what Jack Gruntler always used to say."

"What is your problem?" The Doctor snaps.

"You've been looking for Miss Hollerford for quite a while. Have been on a mission to find her. Am I correct?"

April looks at the Doctor sharply, glaring at him for a moment before sighing in disappointment. From the start she knew that their meeting wasn't accidental, and yet she still fell for his lies when he insisted that it was. The Doctor watches April's face drop before looking down at his hands in his lap guiltily like a child being told off.

"So my first concern about our meeting being planned out _was_ true." April mumbles after a while.

Aiden smirks. "I don't think you've ever realised, Doctor, but your cyborg does talk in her sleep sometimes. Even after she switches herself off. How I figured that one out." He nestles down to sleep again.

April and the Doctor remain silent for a long while. April's scowl is harsh again, the crease lines in her forehead are painfully prominent. She finds herself shaking with anger and she uses all the strength she can muster to not cry or scream out in her fury. Her rage not only at the Doctor, but also at herself. Her parents always used to tell her not to trust strangers, and here she is. She has put her life in the hands of a lonely madman, as Aiden called him. Even if the Doctor was friends with her parents, there is no way April can find it in her to trust him.

Why did the Doctor lie to her in the first place? Why did he ignore April's initial idea that he didn't happen to accidentally bump into her and continued to lie? Would the truth really stop her from travelling with him? She doesn't think so, but right now she is wishing she ran away alone rather than with the Doctor, Rose and Terry.

April's breathing becomes shallow. Anger overcomes her, thinking that the Doctor is ignorant to ignore this. If he was looking for her then he must've known more about her beforehand. But why?

"Why were you, Rose and Terry looking for me? And why did you lie?" April asks in a low voice. She fixes her eyes on the Doctor's, not wanting to break contact. When the Doctor opens his mouth to answer, April quickly stops him. "And I want the _truth_ from you, Doctor, even if you don't know what honesty is," April hisses. "I know you knew my parents but what has that got to do with anything? Who did you make a promise to? I can't seem to trust anyone because I never get the truth. And I _still_ don't even know the real truth behind my parent's death!"

"They died in a car accident." The Doctor says calmly.

April hits him on the arm. "Just tell me!" Realising her burst of anger after hitting him, April quickly recoils and hides her fist in the sleeve of her hoodie, instantly regretting it.

They both are silent, neither of them knowing what to say or do next.

The Doctor closes his eyes momentarily. "I'm sorry," He whispers. "I knew both your parents very well and not long before they were killed, your father made me promise that I would always look after you. He wanted you to be happy and safe and I promised that I would do as he said. _That's_ who I made that promise to."

"Why did he?"

"Because your parents trusted me with their lives. And I let them down."

April's anger slowly subsides as she listens to the Doctor's words.

"I promised your father that I would look after to you until we find the safe grounds. Until the Battle of the Cytracik is over. Until the Cytracik is destroyed. You don't have to come with me, I'm not asking you too, but I was lonely without Rose and Terry. That's why I dragged you back in time. I'm better with company and it seemed like perhaps you needed it to. I promised to do everything I could. You would be there till the end of me."

"Or vice versa," April nudges the Doctor gently. "Maybe it'll be me protecting you. You could be there till the end of me," April says it in a light hearted way yet the Doctor looks at her sorrowfully, almost as if what she has said fears him. "Why couldn't you have told me from the start?"

"Sometimes things are better left unsaid."

"Like the real reason why my parents are dead?" April waits for the Doctor's response but there isn't one. "They didn't die in a car accident so you can stop pretending that."

"Okay." The Doctor says rather solemnly.

"How did you meet them?" April asks.

"Oh long before you were born. I was at their wedding. They met in their second year at university and married the year after they graduated. As he probably told you before, Declan studied mechanics and did nothing but plan out his inventions which he did not get round to building. He created some of them but not all. His inventions would be ever so useful in the future but they're no use now," the Doctor smiles weakly. "You know, I told him time and time again, but I think your father was born a century too early."

"You have the Tardis. Can't we go back to the day they died, just to see if I could do anything to stop it?"

The Doctor rests his head back against the wall. "We can't. The universe would just collapse into itself, even if we tried."

"But you're always interfering with history."

"Yes but this is the Battle of the Cytracik. It wouldn't be the same," He looks at the sleeping Rose for a while before frowning. "If Bruce lost his temper a lot, why did you put up with him? He isn't even a relative."

April hesitates for a long while. "There was no one else to turn to," She looks at the Doctor. "There's no one else in my family left alive. And I was thirteen. Someone had to look after me. It was that or the orphanage and Bruce wouldn't hear of it. Besides he wasn't always short tempered like that." She can't help but to lie about Bruce and she isn't too sure why. Why is she protecting him?

The Doctor sighs. "April, you've built this great big wall around you and only you can bring it down."

April rolls her eyes. "Thanks for the tip, Doctor. A rather cliched tip at that," She mutters. "But I think I can handle my own problems myself."

The Doctor lets out a loud laugh of disbelief, yet everyone asleep in the hall merely stirs at his laughter. "Yeah I can see you're dealing with your inner demons well, April, being so harsh and stubborn to everyone. Pushing us away. Yeah that sounds like a great idea."

April narrows her eyes. For a split second they seemed at ease with each other but April can't help but fight the feeling that the Doctor is mocking her.

"How do you expect me to be loveable and welcoming to everything that has happened, Doctor?" April snaps. "When I actually _trusted_ you to believe that you were just passing by only to be lied to."

"And have you lied to me since we first met?"

"No." She says a little too quickly.

"You blame me for lying to you and yet you're just as bad."

April continues to glare at the Doctor with her scowl but as soon as she makes a move to leave, the Doctor quickly grabs onto her wrist, aware that more people start to stir in their sleep. April panics at his touch and as she tries to pull away, her hoodie sleeve falls and her raw scars are on display.

April lets out a little gasp. The Doctor only frowns at her reaction but then lowers his eyes, noticing the scars all up her wrists.

There is a moment of silence and for the first time since the Doctor met April, her attitude, her closed-in personality afraid of trust and human contact makes it a lot clearer. April is depressed. Severely depressed.

At first the Doctor doesn't know what to do or what to say. Mental health is such a common thing in humans, but never has he ever come across someone who is so willing to hurt themselves like April. He just doesn't understand why anyone would do something like that to themselves. Surely this is something that as been triggered since her parents death. He can imagine the look on her parents faces if they knew what she was doing to herself.

In the seconds he holds onto her wrist, looking down at the scars, he can suddenly see everything. Everything from April's point of view. He sees the two UNIT soldiers knocking on her door to inform her of her parents death. He sees her fear for Bruce and the way the man beats her. He sees her cutting and burning herself multiple times. And he then sees her first suicide attempt. Followed the many failed attempts after.

His desire to do as Declan wished increases. He will stop at nothing to make April happy.

The Doctor releases April's wrist and she snatches it back. She pulls down her sleeve again, tears filling her eyes.

They both sit side by side, with their backs up against the cold metal wall as they look across the hall in stunned silence. The occasional snore is heard.

"Why do you do that to yourself?" The Doctor whispers after a while. His voice trembles despite the attempt at trying to sound strong.

"Death seemed like an easier option than staying alive," April replies coldly. "It's not important."

"Of course it's important because it's your life! Don't even think for one second that you're not important, April."

April looks at the ground before looking up at the Doctor. "What does that make you then? Just a lonely wonderer like Aiden said. That's why you built Terry isn't it? Not to help you in the Battle of the Cytracik or to help look for me. You needed someone to keep you company while you weren't with Rose. She was there to make you feel less lonely."

"Well that makes two of us then, doesn't it?"

April wipes her eyes.

"I'm sorry," The Doctor says. "I'm so sorry, April."

"Me too."

"Things will get better from here on. I can guarantee that. There's a whole universe to show you. And stars to explore. Please don't do that to yourself again."

April hesitates for a moment. "It's a not a promise but I'll try. I'm willing to move on."

The Doctor flashes a grin.

"No more lies and secrets though." April insists.

"Consider it done."

The Doctor and April look at each other for a moment and April allows herself to relax and offers a small smile.

"What are we going to do about the Slitheen?" April asks after a while. "I mean even for you this is wrong. We can't sit here and wait for them to get to us, or wait till morning till we have an epiphany. You've met them before. Surely you know how to destroy them. Do they have a weakness?"

The Doctor looks at everyone in the hall individually before it hits him. "April, you are a genius!" The Doctor beams before turning to Rose and shaking her awake.

"I wouldn't take it that far." April mumbles.

"Rose," He says excitedly as she slowly wakes up, bringing the world around her into focus. "Do you remember anything about the Slitheen's vulnerabilities? Do you remember what we told your mother to do when that Slitheen broke into her flat?"

Rose rubs her eyes. "I remember that vinegar was fatal to them."

"That's it!" The Doctor exclaims excitedly. "The Slitheen will die if anything containing acetic acid hits them!" He then jumps onto his feet and starts calling out to everyone else asleep in the hall. "Wake everyone up! We may have a chance of survival!"

The Doctor, Rose, April and Terry run around the hall waking everyone up.

"That's barbaric!" The vicar snaps when the Doctor tells him their plan. "It's a sin to kill. Human or not, Doctor, it's still a sin against the will of God!"

The Doctor groans. "But you can't just stay down here while your people die. We need your help. What makes you any different to the Slitheen if you just sit here and let your villagers of your own cult die?"

"They're not _my_ people." The vicar mutters, narrowly glancing at Aiden who is standing behind the Doctor's shoulder.

Aiden pushes the Doctor to the side. "And you have no right to condescend us, you filthy piece of…"

"Oh, would you just listen to yourselves?!" The Doctor yells which silences everyone in the hall. "I don't think in all my time travelling experience I've ever seen the human race so naive about their beliefs. I'm just asking the both of you to leave this rivalry in the past and have a little bit of humanity and teamwork," The vicar opens his mouth to speak but the Doctor quietens him. "No, I'm not going to ask you to kill anything if it's against your will; I'm just asking you to help us. Please?"

The vicar nods and looks at Aiden in the eye. After a long hesitation the two of them shake hands firmly. The Doctor smiles broadly as peace between the cult and Aiden has finally begun. Even though the Doctor wishes to somehow stop the cult with their plans for the Battle of the Cytracik by the end of this.

Everyone begins moving again. The vicar takes them through another tunnel they didn't see on the way to the hall, which leads them into a store room full of boxes, crates and barrels. To the Doctor's surprise, the boxes are full of food and herbs which they have stored away for village celebrations. Everyone takes part in filling up bottles and tin cans of foods and liquids containing acetic acid. Someone starts brewing up some tea and coffee and pass round plastic cups of hot drinks to everyone.

The Doctor looks at Rose who is clasping a cup in her two hands, blowing on her tea.

"Ready to face an old friend?" He asks.

"Ready as I ever will be." She replies with a smile on her face.

The Doctor smiles back and squeezes her shoulders before planting a kiss her on the forehead.

Once everything is packed, everyone huddles around the ladder, looking up at the closed trapdoor leading back into the church, in silence. A buzz of hope and excitement arose when they started packing, believing in the end of their horror, yet as soon as they stand by the ladder, fear strikes them all once again.

Terry is the first to climb the ladder, going to lead everyone safely. "I can see in the dark more than anyone else can." She mutters to herself as she climbs the ladder. She unlocks the lock to the trapdoor and carefully opens it. Terry scans the empty, dark church, noting how the benches are broken and turned over. Some of the stained glass windows have been smashed. She examines the ruins of the church and notes that no Slitheen has passed here since they have been hiding under.

Terry makes the 'all-clear' notice, which is two whistle notes, the second one higher than the other. She then climbs out the trapdoor as everyone else starts to climb up the ladder. The first to come out is the Doctor, the vicar and Aiden who all help the others out.

Terry goes on ahead, sniffing the air as she walks through the church. She notices that one of the main doors has been pulled right off its hinges and the other is bent in the middle. Stepping outside onto the dirt, Terry bends down and picks up a lump of grass from the ground.

"What do you see?" The Doctor asks who appears behind her.

Terry rubs the grass blades between her fingers before looking up at the night sky. "The Slitheen have taken over the village hall. About fifteen percent of the village's population has been murdered. The rest have managed to escape into hiding."

Everyone starts to file out of the church and into a huddle out on the pathway.

"We should split up." One of the Christians suggests and there is a murmur of agreement among the others but the Doctor disagrees.

"We should stick together. Running off individually would be a bad idea – a _very_ bad idea in itself." The Doctor says.

Suddenly there is a loud screech right in ear shot.

No one has the time to register what it is, or to run before a Slitheen from behind makes a swipe at them. The group scream as they fall into a heap on the stone cobbled ground. But before the Slitheen can get another swipe at them, Rose throws her bottle of vinegar at the Slitheen. The creature stumbles backwards in shock, clawing at its face as its slimy green skin starts to dry out and crack. Seconds later, it explodes, covering the group in green, slimy gunk.

There is a long pause of silence as everyone tries to understand what just happened. The silence lasts for about a minute or so before one of the Christian's starts hysterically screaming. Aiden quickly covers their mouth with his hand to quieten them.

The Doctor jumps back onto his feet before helping Rose up. "We'd better keep moving. The others would have felt its death and will start searching for us," He announces. "And before anyone strikes the Slitheen, allow me to talk to them first!"

Everyone grumbles in response before standing up and slowly following the Doctor. He pushes Terry slightly in front, relying on her to sense anything that is wrong. They sneak through the village in silence, some whispers pass here and there, as they clutch their bottles and tin cans. Terry then halts the group as she spots distant figures moving towards them further down the village.

"There's another one!" Someone else cries, pointing upwards.

Everyone's focus follows their point and there standing on the roof of one of the houses is another Slitheen. It jumps down onto the road and starts to approach them menacingly. The Doctor holds out his hand to stop it, wanting to talk to it but someone else runs forward to throw their contents in their bottle at the Slitheen. The Doctor watches the creature explode before turning to see that it was Aiden who threw it.

"I said to let me talk to it first!" The Doctor shouts.

"And then allow them to kill us while we try to make peace with them?" Aiden snaps back. "We need to act quickly before our chance is gone. No one made you our leader, Doctor."

"We're working as a team. With you in charge, we'll never understand these happenings."

Aiden grunts before they all turn to the large group of angry Slitheen's moving in their direction. April hesitates for a quick moment before ordering everyone to take cover. She orders everyone to hide and only attack on her signal. The group does so, hiding behind walls, bins, fences and posts.

"What are you doing?" The Doctor asks as April pushes someone behind a wall.

"Improvising," She replies. "Isn't that what you do all the time?"

The Doctor smiles and goes to tell her to hide but it is too late because the Slitheen have reached them. Looking at the dozen creatures standing opposite them, April suddenly starts to feel very timid, for this is the first time she has ever stood this close to an alien. She stands a little behind the Doctor's shoulder, standing so close to him their arms brush.

"Now I'm only going to ask you this nicely once. The next time may not be so nice," The Doctor starts. "Tell me why you think that bringing revenge on me is the better solution?"

"You have once again murdered our family members tonight therefore you all must be punished." The Slitheen standing in the middle of the group says.

The Doctor frowns. "But taking revenge on me should not involve these villages."

"They all deserve to die."

"Why did you pick this village?" The Doctor asks. "Is it because you know of their cult and their plans for the battle."

"We want to kill anything that gets in the way of us getting the Cytracik."

"Not before we get you!" The vicar jumps out from behind the wall with his substance in his hands at the ready. But before he could throw it at them, one of the Slitheen takes a swipe at the vicar, letting him fly through the air. He lands harshly on the ground. Rose instantly rushes to the vicar's side but he is already unconscious.

A couple of the Slitheen grabs hold of April and the Doctor and try to pull them away. April lets out a loud scream as she tries to pull away but its grip is too strong. Half of the Slitheen's group go to attack everyone else while the Doctor and April are pulled across the village, away from everyone else.

When they are out of sight, all that can be heard are screams from the others as the Slitheen attack them.

The Doctor and April are taken out of the village and back through the Welsh moors. They march on side-by-side in silence, squelching through the wet mud. They find themselves picking up the pace a little as one of the Slitheen announces that they need to get to their ship before the sun rises.

By the time they reach the hill by the bog and the Slitheen's spaceship, dawn brakes through as the night passes. They stop at the top of the hill as two Slitheen goes down to the ship. The Doctor and April are put to one side as the other Slitheen's huddle together in a circle in a heated discussion.

"They're not dead," The Doctor whispers to April. "They can't be. They're taking us here for a reason. They wouldn't kill Terry and Rose."

"They're taking us here to kill us." April mutters.

The Doctor, facing April, grabs onto both her arms and starts to slowly walk them both in circles on the spot as he looks down at her. April returns the Doctor's stare with her scowl.

"That fortune teller," He starts. "What did she tell you? And I want the truth from you, as much as you wanted the truth from me. All humans have this problem of knowing the truth but making up something else to make it seem better. What did your cards say?"

"Nearly all of them said something about me having to change."

"You got the wheel of fortune upside down. You have a very hard lesson to learn, yet even I don't know what."

"But what does that say about whether or not Rose and Terry are alive?"

The Doctor stop spinning and let go of her arms. "I don't know. What else did that woman say?"

"Nothing about Rose and Terry's death." April says, shaking her head. But then she remembers picking up the death card in reverse in her future influence. She quickly removes the thought out of her mind. That is talking about future purposes and this is in the present moment.

"We shall move on!" A Slitheen roars.

Two other Slitheen takes the Doctor and April by their arms before marching them down the hill. They wade through the field and are taken into the spaceship which starts to open as they get closer. Once they are inside, they are both seated on two iron stools.

April watches the Slitheen in fascination as they move about the ship with ease. She then looks back at the door they just came through, which is now closed, and thinks about the Tardis standing alone in the field further south from where they are.

"Have you ever felt it?" The Slitheen standing in front of the Doctor asks quite robotically.

"Felt what?" He replies with a raised eyebrow.

"The pain and the emptiness of a lost loved one?" The Slitheen doesn't wait for a reply as it continues. "When each member of our family is murdered, we feel that exact pain they went through before their death. Have you ever felt that, Doctor? Ever felt the pain of death?" The Slitheen does wait a moment for a reply but never gets one. "You should feel that same amount of pain now."

"What are you trying to get out of this?" The Doctor asks calmly.

"Your death," The Slitheen snarls. "Our race suffered for years on end after you killed one of our families on Earth and we believe that you should suffer that pain too. We've built ourselves up again slowly, each and every one of us wanting that revenge. Once you are dead, we are one step closer to the Cytracik."

The Doctor stands up sharply so he is face-to-face to the Slitheen. "Do you _think_ that I have not felt that pain?" He shouts. "Not only did I lose my family in the Time War but I also lost my home, my whole race! And don't you dare for one second believe that I don't regret it, or feel that pain! I haven't even taken revenge on it and nor has it ever crossed my mind," The Doctor's voice booms louder and he suddenly becomes very dominant over the Slitheen as they all turn their attention to him. "Do you know what you are? You are greedy and couldn't care of nothing else but taking over the human race by killing them off individually to hide yourselves in their skin. It's not even revenge you want, it is power. Like every other species in this battle. I am the Doctor, the last remaining Time Lord in existence. I am not a hero. But I will not let you not take over this planet while under my watch!"

April watches the Doctor as a smile creeps on her face, listening to his echoing voice. "You're unbelievable." She says.

The Doctor drops his stern glare to look down at April kindly, a hint of smugness shining in his eyes. "I know, but its great isn't it?"

"And who's your friend, Doctor?" One of the other Slitheen asks. "Nothing but the Ice Girl with the missing parents and who has the ability to change her own fate," The Slitheen looks down at April. "You've seen the Black Lighthouse flash five times, haven't you?"

The Doctor glances between April and the Slitheen in confusion. "Where did you hear the term Ice Girl from?" He says darkly.

"Why are you calling me that?" April snaps.

But before anything else is said, the Doctor and April are both dragged across the ship, by a couple of Slitheen. They are dragged down a few flight of stairs and into a small, damp cell. No matter how much the Doctor and April struggle and shout threats at them; the Slitheen's grip is still too strong. They both fall in a heap on the cold flooring as the door slams shut behind them.

The Slitheen all laugh as they listen to April cursing them as she slams on the door, and the Doctor flashing his sonic screwdriver at the lock.

"The bomb will take care of everything, Doctor," One of the Slitheen says. "You have until midday." They all screech with laughter as they leave the ship and head back to the village.

April screams and hits the door a few more times but she knows that it is useless and that they are stuck there. Yet she turns to the Doctor, who is leaning against the wall watching her, and snatches the sonic screwdriver out of his hands. She holds it up to examine it.

"How do you use this?" She snaps, spitting out her words in anger.

"It won't open the door." The Doctor replies calmly.

"Yeah but we can try," April's voice starts to crack. "We can get out, get back to Rose and Terry, stop the Slitheen and save the village. That's what you do. That's what you _always_ do. You said so."

The Doctor pushes himself away from the wall and approaches April to get his screwdriver back but she only snatches it away from him, not willing to give it back and determined to get out of there. There is a tiny spark of hope in her.

"April," The Doctor's voice is harsh as he tries to get back the sonic screwdriver. "April there's no point. They've bolted us in and the bomb will go off at midday."

"And you're just going to let us stay in here without an attempt at escape?" She snaps, pushing the Doctor away, her fingers still clasping the sonic screwdriver. "You _promised_ my father that you would look out for me," She pushes him away again but he keeps coming closer. "You promised your _friend_ that you would keep me safe. Are you just going to ignore that, Doctor?"

The Doctor looks at April in the eye, finally understanding the hurt she went through in the past and the fear she held onto. He continues to advance on her but she tries to push him away, becoming more and more hysterical. Soon enough the Doctor clasps his hand over April's fist holding onto the sonic screwdriver, their foreheads press together. They are silent for a moment.

"I'm so sorry, April Hollerford."


	15. XIV - Prisoners

**XIV  
Prisoners**

 _20_ _th_ _Century  
_ _Planet Earth  
_ _Wales  
_ _1984_

Rose slowly starts to gain consciousness with a thumping headache and sore wrists. The bright lights hanging above her don't help her head, nor do they help her to regain her focus. The memory of what happened before is very fuzzy. She hears movements of shuffling of feet and voices around her but she can't quite distinguish what is being said. She knows that they are human voices which suddenly makes her feel somewhat safer. She has an overwhelming sensation that she is back in the Tardis with the Doctor, but once her eyesight starts to slowly adjust to her surroundings, she quickly comes to the realisation that she is not in the Tardis at all but what looks like a very large kitchen made up of brick walls.

There are people walking around her in long white lab coats, cooking something on the large hob, yet the stench of their cooking makes Rose's eyes water. The Doctor is nowhere to be seen, nor is Terry or April. She looks to her right to see Aiden lying unconscious on a bench with belts wrapped around his wrists, waist and ankles, tying him to a wooden table. Suddenly realising that the pain in her wrists are coming from the belts being so tightly wrapped around her, Rose starts to struggle in a panic and calls out the Doctor's name hysterically. This only causes attention to the people in the kitchen.

One man bends over to look at Rose. Her screams are silenced as he places one rubber-gloved hand over her mouth and holds up an empty syringe in the other. Rose somewhat recognises the man's face and realises that he is one of the men in the pub who transformed into a Slitheen.

"This won't hurt a bit, Miss Tyler," The man says as he looks at the sharp needle of the syringe. "Just a little cut." He moves towards the oven to pour some of the hot green contents from the large pan sitting on the hob into the syringe.

Aiden wakes up with a groan, and he too starts to struggle in a panic.

"Do you remember what happened?" Rose asks, noticing the large cut across his forehead.

Aiden shakes his head. "I don't remember anything since we left the church," He replies. "I only hear screams in my mind but I don't know what from," He then frowns as he looks at Rose's forehead. "You've got a large cut across your head."

Rose's heart leaps up into her throat at his words. "So do you."

"What does that mean?" Aiden hisses. "That's where the Slitheen unzip their human form's skin. Does that mean they're going to turn us into a Slitheen too if we don't find an escape?"

Rose looks up at the ceiling and wriggles about on the table, but it is no use as the belts are too tight. "But the thing is the Slitheen just kill you and then remove the skin. Why have they kept us alive? And what are they cooking in that pan?"

"What about the others? Are they already Slitheen or waiting to be turned into a Slitheen?"

"Or they could be dead," Rose pauses for a moment, realising what she just said. "But Terry is just a cyborg, she can't die!" Rose and Aiden look at each other helplessly.

"I guess we're about to find out." Aiden mutters, glancing at the man approaching Rose.

Rose looks at the man standing before her with the syringe in his hand. "Do…do you have a family?" Her words stumble out of her mouth in a hurry. "A family back in Raxacoricofallapatorius? Do they know you're here? Do they know what you're doing to planet Earth?" Rose tries to suppress a smile as she knows that she has the man's full attention and that she is passing the time. "Surely not the whole of your race left your home planet alone to come over here?" She then lowers her voice. "How many did you leave behind? Friends? Family? Loved ones?"

The man suddenly looks very downcast as he guiltily looks at his shoes.

Rose waits for an answer but the man never replies. He breathes heavily.

"Tell me why you came here. Tell me why you kill human beings and use their skin as a disguise. Why do you want revenge on the Doctor for saving a planet he _loves_ because your race was greedy and too ambitious to want to take over it? I know this cult is wanting to own the Cytracik like you do and that means they are a threat to you. We have no sympathy for you and the things you do. It's wrong and I know that somewhere deep down inside of you, you know that this is wrong. But you're probably brought up to believe that revenge and killing humans is a better option," Rose glances at the syringe which the man holds loosely by his side. "So here's a deal: we will leave you behind if you do no more harm to human beings. You leave this planet and we will all be at peace. Is that understood?"

There is a long pause of silence as the men in the kitchen freeze on the spot. Rose has very little hope that her words meant anything to the man as he looks as if he is considering the deal. She holds onto her breath, wondering if she has saved the day – but she is wrong.

"You are a liar!" The man shouts as anger suddenly crosses his face. "You're only fooling us to leave your precious planet alone! My race will stop at nothing to get what we want. We came here to have revenge on the Doctor and to behold the Cytracik and that is what we will do!"

"Well we'll just make you another obstacle to pass before you can get to the Doctor." Says a voice so familiar that Rose feels relieved.

Terry stands in the doorway to the kitchen, glaring at the men around her.

Aiden groans. "Could we just stop faffing around and get on with it!" He hisses but to his surprise, Terry is very quick on her feet as she dodges past the men that start running towards her. She turns the corner and starts encouraging them to come and get her and use her skin. While she is doing this, Aiden manages to free himself from the straps before freeing Rose. They stumble across the kitchen, their ankles weak. Yet as soon as they are close to the door, Aiden's jacket gets caught on the pan and it is knocked over, the hot green liquid spilling out onto the stone floor.

It all happens very quickly; one man pins Terry to the ground, another has his hands locked around Aiden's throat and another runs towards Rose, who backs up against the wall. He runs faster and faster towards her and throws the syringe.

It flies through the air and directly into Rose's throat.


	16. XV - Fooled

**XV  
Fooled**

 _20_ _th_ _Century  
_ _Planet Earth  
_ _Wales  
_ _The Slitheen spaceship  
_ _1984_

The Doctor and April have been sitting in the cell in silence for at least a few hours now. April sits on the iron ledge in the corner of the cell, chucking an elastic band ball she found, letting it bounce from the floor, off the wall and back to her. The Doctor sits on the floor in the corner to her right, looking down at his lap in concentration. April throws the ball one last time harshly before catching it again and stopping.

"Are we really going to sit here until we blow up and die?" April snaps, glaring at the Doctor but he doesn't move. April lets out a little laugh of disbelief. "Would you believe it? The Doctor has given up on himself. Since when did you become so pathetic?" April chucks the ball again, letting it smack against the wall before catching it and throwing it again. "You nearly gave up on us when we were hiding under the church but I managed to knock some sense into you and I want to do the same," April raises her voice to a shout as she stands up. "Doctor, you're not giving up on me again and breaking my father's promise! Just get your bloody act together and help us like you're always supposed to do!"

"What I'm supposed to do?" The Doctor whispers.

"Save the world. Isn't that you usually do?"

"What about saving yourself?"

Silence fills the cell as the Doctor continues to look gloomily at his lap.

April angrily chucks the ball at the Doctor, but it narrowly misses his face as it bounces off the wall and rolls along the floor. The Doctor doesn't even flinch. Not believing him, April throws herself back onto the ledge and scowls at the cell door, resting her chin in her palm.

"It's like trying to get blood out of a stone when talking to you, Doctor." She mumbles.

The Doctor reacts to this as he looks at her. "Are you always going to be _t_ _his_ sulky?"

April raises her eyebrows but keeps her eyes on the door. "Yes I am, if you haven't already taken note before." She replies indifferently.

"I said I'm sorry, April. There's nothing we can do."

April stares at the Doctor harshly. "I hate you."

"Face the facts."

"Fuck off!" She screams, jumping to her feet.

Silence follows. But the silence only lasts so long before April notices that the Doctor is in hysterical giggles. She looks at him suspiciously as he falls about the floor, clutching onto his stomach and letting out roars of laughter. He laughs so much that tears start to stream down his face.

April is confused.

"What's the matter with you?" April asks rudely as she draws her hand from her face.

She starts to feel vulnerable and anxious as the Doctor points at her and tries to say something through his laughter but nothing can be said. The Doctor cries out in laughter so loud that April soon realises that he has been holding onto that laugh for a few hours and is perhaps fooling her. She stands up and faces him, crossing her arms tightly across her chest.

The Doctor wipes away his tears as his laughter starts to subside. A proud smile beams across his face as he pushes himself back onto his feet and looks at April in amusement.

"April, my dear, dear, April Hollerford," He says, standing opposite her. "You are just like your mother. You are an easy one to tease," He wipes away the remaining tears as April narrows her eyes. "You didn't like me when we first met. You were very unwilling to travel with me, let alone believe anything I said and you never wanted to say a thing about yourself. But just look at how much you have grown since: you've put your whole faith into a crazy man in a moving police box to get you away from here. You're clever, but God you are gullible as well." The Doctor laughs and then reaches his hand to touch April's face but she instantly flinches away. He lets his hand hover for a moment, allowing April to relax before clasping her face in both his hands. It is their first real physical contact since they met and April's tense body suddenly relaxes. "I guess bad beginnings make happy endings, eh?"

April looks at the Doctor and raises an eyebrow. "You're saving my life as much as I'm saving yours."

"And that's a promise." He says, nodding his head.

April then frowns again. "But what was so funny?"

The Doctor steps away from her as he tries not to laugh again. "You should've seen your face when you thought I had given up on you, Mrs _Robinson_." The Doctor laughs again as he mocks her. He takes out his sonic screwdriver and twists it in his hand.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

The Doctor laughs again which angers April as he has made a fool of her.

"Oh you, bastard!" April snaps.

"I'm the Doctor," He says. "And I never give up on stopping aliens from killing the planet," He then shines the screwdriver at the back wall. "Besides I fooled you into _believing_ me and that's impressive."

There is a click as a section in the middle of the wall suddenly opens like a cupboard door. Inside the wall are many different wires tangled with one another. To the left is a digital clock counting down the minutes and a large bomb in the middle. The Doctor starts to pull out some of the wires and shines the sonic screwdriver over the bomb.

"So you _do_ know how to stop this bomb." April says.

"Not stop it, no. The bomb is linked to about ten more in their ship, but I know how to get out of here."

April frowns. "Why didn't you say so before?"

"I just wanted to see if you had faith in me." The Doctor replies as he reaches into the wall, almost as if he's trying to avoid April's gaze.

"That's just not fair, Doctor! You've been wasting time when we could have been out of this cell hours ago to save Rose and Terry and the others," April shakes her head. "I hate you."

The Doctor pulls out a screen and taps something into the keyboard underneath. Soon enough the Doctor smiles again.

"They're alive," He announces excitedly. "Rose, Terry and Aiden, they're still alive. And I know where they are."

"So what do you plan to do then?"

The Doctor jumps to his feet and presses his ear against the wall. "Get away from here quickly." He glances down at the digital clock, noting that they have a minute until the bomb is due to go off. April notices this too. They are silent for a couple of seconds before the Doctor notices that there is a slight hissing sound in the wall.

"April," The Doctor starts calmly as he moves away from the wall. "Do you know what I like to do when there is nothing else to do? And I do it very often."

"You said to run."

"Yes. I run. Are you ready to run like you've never ran before?"

April stares at the Doctor. "Who says I'm not used to this?"

The Doctor smiles. "And when I say so, I want you to run as fast as you can back to the village and never stop. Not even when we're on another planet. We must always keep running," He looks at the clock and there are only a few seconds left. "Run!"

With that, the Doctor unlocks the door with his sonic screwdriver and they sprint out of the spaceship and across the boggy field, heading towards the pathway between the two hills.

As they get further and further away from the ship the Doctor reaches his hand out towards April. She looks at him, before taking his hand just as the ship explodes behind them.


	17. XVI - The Catalyst

**XVI  
The catalyst**

 _20_ _th_ _Century  
_ _Planet Earth  
_ _Wales  
_ _1984_

It takes a long silent moment to realise that in fact the syringe has not hit Rose, but the wall behind her, narrowly missing her throat by mere millimetres.

After getting her breath back, and seeing Terry and Aiden relax, knowing that she is unhurt, Rose realises that the men, who have transformed back into Slitheen in their angry outburst, are frozen to the spot. All Slitheen in the room are in an unblinking, not breathing and not moving state.

Aiden waves his hand in front of the Slitheen that was strangling him, yet it does not respond. Rose slowly edges away from the wall, hearing a soft hissing sound that seems to be coming from it.

"They've set something off." Terry says as she scans one of the unmoving Slitheen with her handheld device.

Rose looks at her quizzically. "Terry, what's going on?" She asks, her voice trembling slightly.

"In the week since their landing, they've managed to store bombs in the walls of nearly every building on the village," She replies sternly. "They did this for some sort of preparation for either a) being attacked by their enemy or b) destroying their enemy once caught."

"Not a bad idea." Aiden mutters under his breath.

"I don't understand," Rose says. "Why have they tried to kill us this way?"

"They weren't trying to kill us, they only want to kill the Doctor," Terry replies. "Think about it, Rose, they want revenge on the Doctor, and what better way is there than turning the ones he cares about the most into Slitheen? They wanted to turn us into Slitheen to help in their revenge."

"But what about these guys?" Aiden asks tapping one of the frozen Slitheen on the head. "Why have they suddenly frozen like this?"

Terry scans the wall with her handheld device. "The bomb reacts to their DNA," She mutters. "Because that syringe hit the wall instead of you, Rose, their DNA has set off the bombs like a catalyst and therefore putting the Slitheen's into a state of shock."

"We have to stop the bomb." Rose says sternly.

There is a sudden an ear piercing alarm that rings to announce the countdown for when the bombs are due to blow. As the alarm rings, a blue electrical charge surrounds each Slitheen. They start to shake and scream in spasm as the charge electrocutes them.

Rose, Terry and Aiden start running out of the kitchen and up some stairs, dodging more screeching Slitheen on the way. Once they reach the top of the stairs, they find themselves in the town hall.

To their luck, there aren't any Slitheen in the hall, and sitting on top of a metal table in the corner, is a digital clock, counting down the seconds, and a large computer-like machine tangled in different wires. They rush to the table and Terry is already at work, trying to stop the bomb.

As the seconds continue to tick away, Terry finally finds the hidden manual to defuse the bomb, but to her disappointment, it says nothing on how to stop it. She start frantically pulling wires out but nothing happens.

Then all of a sudden, just as the three of them are starting to become frantic, the stopwatch pauses. The hissing ceases and a sign on the screen says that the bomb has been defused. However, the three continue to hold onto their breaths in fear, not really know if it is true.

Then after a while, they slowly turn around in unison. The Doctor and April stand behind them, the Doctor having a bit of a smug look on his face, clearly pleased with himself.

"I nearly had it before you turned it off!" Terry hisses but the Doctor only laughs.

"In fact the Slitheen turned it off their selves," He replies as he walks up to them. "It's funny because when you come to think of it, the Slitheen don't have a lot of common sense. They linked all the bombs in all the buildings to set off a catalyst in an attempt to kill everyone off. Yet what they didn't realise is that their bombs were also linked to the ones in their own spaceship. So there they go, locking April and I into a cell to blow us up. Their own DNA sets off the timer for all the other bombs but the explosion of their spaceship was enough to stop the catalyst." The Doctor smiles at Rose before wrapping his arms securely around her into a big embrace.

"How did you find this out?" Rose asks.

"I'd like to say that I knew about this," The Doctor says as he releases Rose. "But April Hollerford worked it out herself." The Doctor says this proudly. "She told me this the moment we saw the Slitheen in the street being electrocuted."

April only looks back at Rose, still scowling.

Everyone suddenly jolts back to their senses when there is a screech from the Slitheen outside.

"The Slitheen will be scared," The Doctor says, running across the hall to pick up his long coat which he had left on one of the windowsills. "Our job now is to scare them out of planet Earth. Where are the others?"

There is a moment of hesitation of the memory of being attacked by the Slitheen out on the street comes flooding back to their minds.

"The vicar died from the blow of the Slitheen," Rose whispers, feeling overwhelmingly emotional over remembering it. "It was from shock and he lost too much blood by the time we tried to help him." She then finds her hand in the Doctor's as he gives her a reassuring smile. Rose nods.

They still have a mission to complete and Rose can't help but notice a slight change in April. Although the scowl still remains on her face, she somewhat seems a little more relaxed in their presence rather than tense and keeping herself to herself. Rose smiles but April looks away, still not returning one.

The Doctor puts his arms round both Rose's and Aiden's shoulders.

"So all we need to do is scare the Slitheen back to their home planet and give you back your village. Well, the _cult's_ village and to erase their minds from the Cytracik." He gives Aiden's shoulder an extra hard squeeze.

They follow the Doctor as they run out of the town hall and onto the village street. There is nothing in the village square, only some people peer out from behind their window curtains in their houses to see them running. They run down the street, but as soon as they see the Slitheen, Terry pulls them to hide behind a low wall. They silently watch the Slitheen as they march towards the end of the village and back out to the fields. They are marching in lines of five.

"What are they doing?" Rose asks.

The Doctor takes out his sonic screwdriver but as soon as the blue light at the end shines, the Slitheen react to its noise and turn their direction to the Doctor. He stands up and steps out onto the cobbled road, the Slitheen watching his every move.

Rose moves to join him but April quickly pulls her back down, sensing that the Slitheen do not want to attack him. They remain silent behind the wall, peering over the edge and listening carefully to their conversation.

"So this is it?" The Doctor starts as he stands there with his hands in his trouser pockets. "I don't have to scare you off? You're all just going to go back to your ship and just fly off without further ado?" The Doctor thinks about what he just said before bursting out in a sharp laugh. "Oh no, I believe you can't because you don't even have a ship!" He laughs more. "Oh, you guys are brilliant because you just never think before you do!"

"You helped us to fail our mission, Doctor," One replies. "You destroyed one of our families and now you build a team to keep you company while you stop us from succeeding in our revenge. Don't think we don't know how lonely you really are."

"So you're just going to leave? Make a peace treaty with us?"

But the Slitheen laugh at this.

"For the time being, Doctor. This cult is no use to us. You won't see us for a long while."

The Doctor raises an eyebrow suspiciously.

"We will take our final revenge at the ending of the Battle of the Cytracik. You heard of the Ice Girl's prophecy. You know what may or may not happen."

"The prophecy where April Hollerford can change her own fate to stop the Battle of the Cytracik and I'll be there for her every step of the way," The Doctor suddenly becomes very tense and the mention of this prophecy. He flicks a switch on his sonic screwdriver so that April, Rose and Aiden can no longer hear him. "And what happens if she changes it before the whole universe reunites for the Cytracik? What happens then?"

"She won't."

"Oh I'm not too sure about that. Time never happens as it's supposed to. It wobbles all over the place." The Doctor runs forward so he is up close to the Slitheen.

April only hears the mention of the Battle of the Cytracik and how she can change her own fate but then there is silence. The Doctor still moves his mouth and so do the Slitheen but they can't hear him. The three shift a little as they watch what's happening. It looks like a very heated discussion but moments later, the Doctor takes a step back as the Slitheen slowly start to disappear as blue particles fly up into the sky. Then they are gone.

The wind howls loudly, filling up the silence. The Doctor remains on the spot, looking down at the spot of road the Slitheen's were standing on only seconds ago. He takes in a deep breath to try and calm his frustration as he runs his fingers through his hair. All he can think about is his promise to Declan Hollerford and what the Slitheen have just informed him.

This is not the end of his meetings with the Slitheen. It is not the end of meetings with many of his enemies. And it is all downed to the Cytracik. The Doctor clenches his fists in anger. The damn Cytracik. Is he ever going to be at peace?

Soon enough, the doors and windows of shops and houses burst open as all the villagers cheer at the departure of the aliens.

Later that afternoon there is a street party to celebrate this. Buntings are hung up across the village and a long table is laid out with white cloth. Food from the bakery, shops and cooked from homes are taken out and the villagers consume the food merrily. Music plays all day long and people dance out on the streets, throwing confetti into the air.

Peace and freedom has returned to the village.

Aiden reunites with his remaining friends from the pub that are still alive and Terry finds herself joyfully dancing along with the other villagers.

It is a happy sight to see everyone in the village so happy and content that their safety has returned.

Both the Doctor and Rose sit on a bench watching everyone and eating some cupcakes one of the villagers gave them. The Doctor catches April awkwardly trying to dodge everyone but is then caught up in a dance. It warms his heart to see Aiden pull her into his arms and spin her around in circles. Aiden laughs and April finds herself laughing too. Soon she caves in and dances with him.

"Do you think she'll stay with us?" Rose asks.

"She has to," The Doctor replies. "I can't let her go back to Bruce."

"And you need her for the Battle of the Cytracik," Rose sighs. "Do you know what she has to do?" But the Doctor only shakes his head. "It's quite amazing how much you have saved her, Doctor. It'd be great to see how she'll save you."

The Doctor doesn't reply and Rose nudges him playfully.

"You know that I'll never leave you."

The Doctor looks at Rose warmly before taking her hand in his. They then join the party, eating the food and shaking hands with some of the villagers who thank them for the help. They stand back and watch Aiden and his pub friends dancing with some of the Christians – which delights them – before going over to join them in the dance. April turns to look at the Doctor and Rose walk over in her direction. She has a broad smile on her face which aches the muscles in her cheeks but she ignores it because for the first time in years, she feels happy and is thoroughly enjoying herself.

They dance and celebrate all day long and Aiden even passes around free drinks from his pub. The Doctor, Rose, Terry and April sit at the table with a pint of cider from the pub. They clink their glasses together before taking a swig. However, April who has never tasted alcohol before takes quite some time to allow her taste buds to get used to the strong, dry taste. The party goes into the night and only stops in the early hours of the morning.

The villagers help to organise the vicar's funeral which takes place in the church's graveyard a couple of days later. It is a short and sweet ceremony and Aiden says a few words himself as they bury the coffin.

"I want to go somewhere else," April says to the Doctor as they leave the funeral service. "Feel like I've had enough of the Welsh valleys."

"Does that mean you're staying with us then?" The Doctor asks as they stop walking momentarily.

April sighs, well aware that the Doctor, Rose and Terry are all watching her, waiting for her response. "Well I have nowhere else to go," She glances to Rose. "Although I don't want to be stuck in your pocket," At this Rose laughs bitterly. "And as long as I can collect my belongings from my house. I managed to drop my bag after you hauled me through the dustbin."

With that, the Doctor, Rose, April and Terry walk away from the village together, talking about their adventure and find ways to make a joke out of it as if the whole experience and the Slitheen's stupidity is funnier than it really was.

They take the pathway between the two hills and back through the woods, remembering running frantically through here not long before. They then realise that they probably should have taken a much easier route back when they find themselves climbing down the steep hill, yet the hill doesn't seem as steep or so high than it was when they had to climb up it.

It is mid-afternoon when they reach the Tardis in the middle of the farmer's field. Only this time the Doctor does take note of the sign by the gate labelling "PRIVATE PROPERTY". The weather is exactly how it was when they first arrived: grey sky with a strong wind and to them, it feels like they have gone back to the start. They have gone in a full circle.

The Doctor takes out his keys to unlock the Tardis.

"Are you leaving without even saying goodbye?"

They turn to see Aiden Haulman standing not far behind them.

"Oh yes, of course," The Doctor says taking a step forward. "Can't leave this place without saying goodbye to our very own pub owner."

Aiden smiled broadly as he takes the Doctor's hand and shakes it firmly. "One needs a little adventure once in their life and I thank you for this one. It's one I shall remember till the end of my days."

"It's my pleasure."

"And maybe I'll see you soon?"

The Doctor hesitates. "Maybe if we come back here." But the Doctor's voice is unsure.

"Well as Ireen used to tell me that Time Heals."

The Doctor stares at him for a long while but Aiden only smiles back. The Doctor turns to the Tardis but then stops to look back at Aiden.

"When we leave, they will no longer be a cult. All memory of the Battle of the Cytracik will be gone. The village will appear on the map and they will go on with their lives normally. Your work here is done."

"For now though, Doctor. I'll see you at the end of the Battle of the Cytracik."

The Doctor pauses, the thought filling him with dread.

Aiden nods.

The Doctor nods back. "You might want to see this though." He winks at Aiden before turning back to the Tardis, unlocking the doors and stepping inside – still pushing the doors open rather than pulling. Rose and Terry wave goodbye and also step in. April takes one last look at Aiden and the Welsh surroundings.

"Hey," Aiden calls before April steps inside. "Don't worry too much about what those creatures said about your prophecy. It's probably all just folk tale; some sort of myth or legend. Everyone probably has some sort of prophecy that says they must change something."

"But you also called me the Ice Girl too." April replies.

"That is what we all know you of."

April smiles weakly before nodding. "I'll bear that it mind, Aiden." She then steps into the Tardis, allowing the door to swing shut.

A moment later there is a loud thud and the Tardis starts to make its whoozing sound as the blue light on the roof flashes as it slowly disappears.

Aiden stands back and watches in fascination, shielding his eyes from the bright light as the wind blows stronger. The Tardis disappears as its sound echoes in the distance before it completely vanishes.

Aiden finds himself laughing out loud before turning to head back to his home.


	18. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

 _21_ _st_ _Century  
_ _Planet Earth  
_ _England  
_ _London  
_ _Wandsworth_

April pulls open the Tardis doors and looks out at the cul-de-sac around her. It is lunchtime on a weekday. The children are out playing in the sunshine on the grass area while their mothers congregate on the pavement, chatting along with one another. The wind is light and breezy, not strong like it was in Wales. It is a perfectly normal day.

As April looks around her surroundings and she finds it somewhat strange to know that she has been travelling back and forth through time and running for her life away from monsters, saving other people's lives while everyone else in her home city is leading a perfectly normal life and yet they are unaware of the real dangers that are out there in the universe.

"We should be back to the day the I pulled you back in time," The Doctor says as he steps out of the Tardis to stand beside April. "Roughly two hours after."

April nods as she runs her tongue along her teeth. She knows that Bruce will still be at work so she has enough time to safely walk into the house, grab her things and leave the cul-de-sac forever.

She starts walking away and then turns back to the Doctor to tell him that she won't be longer than five minutes and that he shouldn't worry about her. The Doctor nods and encourages her to go on as she turns away. She walks across the road, ignoring the mothers who turn to look at the strange girl living with Bruce who spends all day, every day in the house. As she walks, she glances at the dustbin that she was pulled through, but then fear rises up inside her and she stops dead in her tracks. The memory of falling back in time that very morning comes back to her. She remembers dropping her bag on the ground as she fell.

To her horror, the bag isn't there.

Has someone taken it to look after? But she knows that from the stares from the mothers that they wouldn't have done so. The only other answer, from which she dreads to think about, is that Bruce might have come home from work early.

Not wanting to worry the Doctor, for she has stopped walking, April takes an uneven breath in before walking up to her house.

It is quiet. It is eerily quiet yet the silence feels so familiar to April after all those days of sitting inside the house on her own in fear. The sounds of Bruce's past shouts start ringing in her ears as she reaches the front door. But the first thing April notices when she reaches for the door handle is that there is something not quite right.

Before meeting the Doctor, April could always tell when something bad was going to happen, however since her travels in the Tardis, this sense has somewhat increased and the sense she feels now seems very alien. She can easily tell when something is alien or not part of her world. And that is how she feels when she reaches the front door: some sort of alien presence.

She pushes open the door, allowing it to creak loudly like it usually does. There is no sound inside and a cool breeze blows softly.

"Bruce," April calls. "Are you in?" Her voice is strong and confident but on the inside she feels vomit rising up in her stomach.

When there is the no reply, April closes the door – but not tightly – and runs up the stairs and into her bedroom in a hurry. Her bedroom door is shut, just as it was when she left. Yet she finds her rucksack sitting on her bed. April opens it and rummages through, only to find that nothing has been taken, nothing has been put inside and nothing has been touched. In fact, it is just clear that Bruce has picked up her bag and put it back into her room without further ado.

From the silence in the house, she knows that Bruce is still at work but she doesn't want to hope on it too much as the niggling feeling in her chest tells her that there is something in her house. Something that possibly shouldn't be there.

It isn't until she zips up her rucksack that she hears something close behind her that wasn't there a moment ago. It is the sound of a rasping breath, uneven and almost disjointed.

April's heart leaps into her throat as she recognises the rough breathing as Bruce's but a lot more robotically. Pulling herself together, she turns around, wanting to face Bruce for the last time. Only she isn't met by Bruce. She is met by a tall figure of about six foot wearing a blue and white fencing suit and a blue wired fencing helmet.

April swallows as she composes herself. "What are you?" She asks in a low voice, knowing full well that despite the human figure body, it is not a human under the fencing suit.

"I am what you have seen for five years." It replies with a raspy breath almost incoherent.

April watches it for a moment, taking in what it said. This one sentence makes April realise what this creature is and what it is doing. She narrows her eyes as she examines the alien further. It all suddenly makes sense to her when she see a flash of something in the air near its helmet. It almost looks like a small tadpole floating, just like the one she thought she saw over Bruce's shoulder before.

"What happened to Bruce?" April tightens her grip on the end of her bed.

"Died along with your parents."

April stares at the figure in front of her, taking in its presence. Then it suddenly hits her why the presence of this creature feels so familiar to April. "You killed Bruce, didn't you?"

The creature clicks its tongue. "Oh you are clever, aren't you?"

"You killed Bruce and pretended to be him. For five years. It wasn't the real Bruce Fey I knew as a child who attacked me every day. It's not Bruce Fey I should fear, it's _you_!" April takes a step away from the creature as she shouts. "Why did you kill him?"

"The same reason as why your family are dead."

"And how _did_ they die?"

The creature lets out an almighty roar of laughter which sends shivers down April's spine. Her knees tremble with fear and she glances out her bedroom window, wondering how she is to get away from the creature.

"April Hollerford," The creature chants as it takes a step closer to her. "The naïve yet smart young girl who has the ability to change her own fate. And how the universe wishes to see her fall."

"Including you," April hisses. "Then why haven't you killed me?" Another realisation quickly comes to April as soon as she asks the question. It's almost as if she is answering everything for herself. She shifts on the spot as she looks through the wired helmet, wondering what the creature looks like underneath. "You took over Bruce's image in order to kill me and the only way you could, would be to attack me till my strength weakened," She narrows her eyes. "But why am I not dead?"

"There is a force around you," The creature replies. "Something has been getting in the way."

"Doctor," April mutters under her breath. "The Doctor kept me alive because of my father's promise. My father's love was too powerful, more powerful than you."

The Doctor's name is registered in the creatures mind.

"Then the Doctor must be destroyed!" The creature roars.

Then everything happens quickly as the creature lets out another ear piercing roar and leaps forward to attack April. However as it does so, April sweeps her thick copy of Bryan Cox's _Wonders of the Universe_ off the nearest desk and hits the creature round its head with all her might. The force of the blow both shocks April and the creature. The creature falls to its knees, dizzy, and April drops the book onto the carpet, scared at herself for hitting the creature like she did. But before the creature can compose itself again, she swings her rucksack onto her back and runs out of her bedroom and down the stairs, only to run smack into Rose, letting out a yelp of fright.

"The Doctor knew something was wrong!" Rose says but April pushes her backwards.

"Get out of the house now!" April snaps, pushing Rose back out the door. Rose lets out a gasp as she sees the creature standing on the landing, looking down at them.

"What is that?" Rose asks.

"The creature that killed Bruce."

It lets out another mighty roar, as it runs down the stairs, knocking over the paintings on the wall. However there is a loud bang and the creature suddenly vanishes, only leaving a trail of blue smoke in the air. The familiar sound of the sonic screwdriver calms Rose to know that the Doctor is there.

The blue smoke clumps together and flies through the air and into a jar in Terry's hand, like water being sucked down a plug hole. Terry slams the lid down on the jar and the Doctor secures it with the sonic screwdriver.

"April Hollerford, I don't think I've ever met someone who attracts nearly as many aliens as I do," The Doctor says as he bends down to peer at the smoke in the jar. "That should keep it safe for a while."

"Keep it safe?" April hisses. "You are many things Doctor, but for someone to keep the creature that wanted to kill me for five years _safe_ is something new."

"We're keeping it safe for the time being," The Doctor replies, looking down at her. "Only until we get to the black hole in the galaxy Andrymia where it will be destroyed. You will no longer have that fear of knowing that someone is going to beat you, April. It's all over now, I promise."

"What was that?" Rose asks, peering at the jar.

"A shape shifter." Terry replies.

There is a tense moment between the Doctor, Rose and Terry as they all exchange knowing glances.

April lets out a shaky sigh, almost as if weight has been taken off her shoulders but she is unsure. She still doesn't feel secure, no matter what the Doctor tells her.

"Are you okay?" He asks, concern rising in his voice.

"No," April splutters. "I'm not!" She starts to pace up and down with her hand on her forehead, trying to get her words out but it all comes out in a jumble. "How do you expect me to feel? I mean I've finally come to the realisation as to why Bruce attacked me. And it wasn't even Bruce. He was killed at the same time as my parents and even that creature mocked me for not knowing my own parents death," The Doctor opens his mouth to speak but April quickly shushes him, wanting to finish what she is saying. "And now you magically turn this creature into dust so you can happily throw it out into a black hole into some other galaxy. You dragged me back in time through a dustbin, pretending that you hadn't spent a long time looking for me – and the reason to that is still unclear apart from the fact that you promised to look out for me." April folds her arms tightly.

"Have you finished?" The Doctor looks somewhat amused as he glances at Rose's not-so-impressed facial expression.

"Yeah," April breathes, nodding but then changes her mind. "Oh but then," She continues quickly just as the Doctor stifles a laugh. "The Slitheen go on about coming back and _you_ know why because you have read this prophecy of mine. I've been called the Ice Girl by Aiden and the Slitheen because apparently that is what I am known of. I mean come _on_ , Doctor! Why don't you tell me anything? Because I certainly feel like there is a lot more to my life and my family which I should know about but I don't!"

"Well maybe right now isn't the correct time to settle everything." Rose chips in.

"So when will be the right time? Doctor?" But the Doctor doesn't reply to April. April sighs. "I'm not okay with everything that's happening and now I feel as if I must be in your will to save all of your lives seeing as you're the ones who saved me from that creature."

"Perhaps you shouldn't take everything into _your_ will, April. Nothing is down to you to save us. We can save each other." The Doctor says.

"I'm saving your life as much as you're saving mine."

The Doctor nods. "It's a shape shifter by the way. This creature. It can take on any form it wants."

April looks utterly perplexed. Her scowl harsh and her eyes wide. She looks almost to the brink of a breakdown.

"Are you okay?" The Doctor asks warily.

"What do you fucking think, Doctor?" April snaps before pulling her hair back with her hands.

"You don't have to stay with us. Do you want to stay here?"

"Where else am I to go?" April asks, her voice breaking. "You guys are all I've got right now. I can't stay here any longer. Besides you've got the Cytracik to find and destroy. I want to help at least if my parents couldn't. It'll be one less thing for you."

"Come to Andrymia with us. At least see off the end of your trauma."

April rubs her eyes.

"Do you know why I taught you how to fly the Tardis?" The Doctor asks after a while.

April sighs heavily again. "Go on then."

"Because you're the only one I know who can do it. The Tardis has some relationship with everyone that walks into that console room. But is has this strange affection for you that I haven't seen it give anyone else other than me. It lets you fly it when I'm not. Nothing has ever done that. And when I'm dead and gone, someone can keep the Tardis going."

"Don't talk like that."

"It's the truth."

"I want to go." April says in a small voice.

It is getting close to evening and the Doctor, Rose, Terry and April finally leave the house and walk across the cul-de-sac, not once turning back. The wind blows harshly and all the children who were out playing before are taken back into their warm homes. The Doctor swings his arms over Terry's and Rose's shoulders as they walk towards the Tardis.

"So, Wales 1984 is now safe and the village lived on, and still does. They are up on the map and are no longer a secret cult. The Cytracik means nothing to them anymore. You know, we could go to visit Aiden at this day and age to see how he is and how he's getting along with the pub and the Christians. I hear they have a street party every year on the anniversary of when the Slitheen left the village."

"I'm sure they're a very happy village now, Doctor." Rose says smiling as she takes the Doctor's hand.

"Where to now then?" The Doctor turns to April. "Pick a star, April – any star and I'll take you there."

 **END OF BOOK ONE**

 _ **Will be continued in book two: Nasty Surprises**_


End file.
